Chapter 1092: Gray Ashes and Smoke

Uncle Ming's expression changed as he remembered the deadly move Zu An still had. He lunged towards them instantly.

At that moment, a lantern slowly rose, its light illuminating him and momentarily freezing him in place.

However, he sneered, "Do you really think a mere fake Changxin Palace Lantern can trap me?"

With a flick of his sleeve, countless silk threads shot out, instantly coiling around the lantern and blocking out all its light.

Then he extended his hand, and the silk threads instantly tightened, tearing the lantern into pieces.

Yu Yanluo grunted in pain, a trace of blood spilling from the corner of her mouth.

Manifesting these magical artifacts through painting inherently caused a backlash, and now the artifact itself was destroyed.

Uncle Ming gave a sinister laugh and lunged directly at them. The fierce gust of wind approaching them made it difficult for both of them to breathe.

Zu An's face paled. He knew that with the opponent's cultivation comparable to a Grandmaster, there wasn't enough time to finish reciting the imperial decree from this distance.

Just as he was about to pull Yu Yanluo to dodge and flee for their lives, he suddenly saw Yu Yanluo's topknot abruptly unravel, her black hair swaying as if by an unseen wind.

A terrifying aura also rose throughout the entire cavern.

At this moment, because Yu Yanluo was standing in front of Zu An with her back to him, he didn't see her eyes suddenly glow with a reddish light.

"You are..." Uncle Ming's pupils contracted violently, and his voice cut off abruptly as he felt his entire body grow incredibly heavy, with signs of hardening on his skin.

Horrified, he quickly circulated his energy to dispel the abnormal changes in his body, leaving him no energy to speak.

The only fortunate thing was that her cultivation and strength weren't strong enough; otherwise, he would have been turned into a stone statue with that one encounter.

His Golden Silkworm Divine Skill spread throughout his body, and in the blink of an eye, he broke free from her restraint.

"Hahahaha, I didn't expect such an unexpected gain today! You are mine, and everything about you will be mine."

He charged forward like a madman, his aura reaching its peak, striking without any mercy.

However, thanks to the time Yu Yanluo bought, Zu An had now completed the recitation of the imperial decree.

A terrifying aura condensed in the cavern, and a golden face appeared above, faintly resembling the current Emperor Taishi.

"No!" Uncle Ming cried out in alarm, no longer caring about the two of them. He frantically turned and ran.

At the same time, countless silk threads spewed out, forming one defensive line after another behind him.

At that moment, the golden figure in mid-air moved. He slowly opened his eyes, and two beams of golden light shot forth.

The previously impenetrable and incredibly tough silk threads melted and were pierced through instantly, like snow meeting the scorching sun.

No matter how fast Uncle Ming was, he couldn't outrun the speed of light. He was struck by the golden light almost simultaneously.

He let out a painful scream, and then his entire body burst into flames.

His body quickly ignited, turning into a fireball almost instantly.

Uncle Ming's agonizing screams echoed, and suddenly a cloud of black mist flew out from the fireball.

Upon closer inspection, it wasn't black mist but rather individual black parasitic bees.

These parasitic bees did not cluster together; instead, they flew in different directions as soon as they emerged.

"Oh no, this is the parasitic bee clan's life-saving skill. As long as one can escape, he can be resurrected," Yu Yanluo's worried voice said.

There were too many parasitic bees, and they scattered in different directions, flying far away in the blink of an eye. There was no time to stop them.

"Don't worry," Zu An reassured her, "If he escapes, the Emperor would no longer deserve the title of the world's strongest."

Sure enough, before his words even faded, the golden human face in mid-air blurred and finally transformed into the shape of a sun.

Countless golden rays of sunlight shot down.

The sunlight illuminated everything; nowhere could they hide.

The parasitic bees buzzed in agony. Almost simultaneously, each one began to smoke, then burst into flames, burning into ashes within a few breaths.

A powerful figure of his generation was reduced to ashes in the blink of an eye.

After all this was done, the golden human face in mid-air gradually dissipated, and the terrifying pressure slowly returned to normal.

Although Zu An had fought with the Emperor's fragmented soul in the secret realm, he still couldn't help but swallow hard at this sight.

"Uncle Ming meticulously planned everything, only to end up like this," Zu An lamented.

"It's a pity that Yanyou's body was destroyed," Yu Yanluo said, her eyes filled with sorrow as she gazed at the pile of ashes on the ground.

She was about to say more, but her body swayed, and she slumped softly to the ground.

Fortunately, Zu An was quick to react, catching her in his arms and preventing her perfect face from hitting the ground.

"Madam, what's wrong?" Zu An urgently asked. He saw that her face was incredibly pale, devoid of any color.

No matter how he called out, she didn't respond. Feeling her breath was barely a thread, Zu An was startled. How could her injuries be so severe?

There was no time to return to Cloudtop City. He quickly took out healing pills, had her swallow them, and then circulated his energy to heal her.

Fortunately, although her injuries were severe, her life force was stable, so it wasn't a lost cause.

Conveniently, the fourth layer of the Grand Primordial Sutra could heal injuries and illnesses, so Zu An didn't delay. He sat cross-legged on the ground and began to clear her meridians, guiding the healing properties of the medicine throughout her body.

However, having her sit there was a problem. He knew she had a constitution sensitive to cold, and the process of expelling the poison from the bull's milk earlier had severely depleted her vital energy.

If she were to sit directly on the ground now, the cold energy from the millennial ice might invade her body while she was heavily injured, potentially leaving behind chronic ailments that would be difficult to cure.

Chu Chuyan's internal cold poison had been like that back then; if he hadn't diligently generated heat every day through friction, she would likely have perished long ago.

He couldn't possibly use that method to save Yu Yanluo in the future, could he?

Not to mention whether Yu Yanluo would agree, he wasn't someone who took advantage of others' vulnerability. Naturally, he wouldn't intentionally cause her a chronic illness only to use it as leverage to gain her body later.

But for some reason, this ice cavern was extremely cold everywhere, and he couldn't find a single spot that was even slightly normal.

Left with no choice, Zu An sat on the ice himself, then held her in his arms, supporting her body with his legs. He placed one hand on her chest and the other on her lower abdomen, beginning to circulate the Grand Primordial Sutra, continuously channeling energy into her to heal her.

Meanwhile, thousands of miles away in the imperial palace of the capital, Emperor Taishi opened his eyes in the Imperial Study and looked towards the northwest, murmuring to himself, "It seems the situation in Cloudtop Prefecture is about to settle."

After a moment's thought, he summoned Eunuch Wen. "Issue an imperial decree," he commanded, "Order the armies of Yi Prefecture to immediately return to their garrisons. They are not permitted to enter Cloudtop Prefecture."

"Also, send a secret edict rebuking Sang Hong, telling him not to act rashly. Feudatory armies are not allowed to be mobilized at will."

He issued several imperial decrees in quick succession. After Eunuch Wen departed, a young eunuch came to report, "Your Majesty, the Crown Princess seeks an audience."

Emperor Taishi frowned. It was well known that he had always been very fond of this "daughter-in-law."

She was beautiful and possessed the demeanor of a noble lady, and she was also his chosen candidate for the next empress.

However, ever since the fragmented soul he had hidden within the Crown Prince died in the secret realm, he felt somewhat uneasy looking at her.

He wasn't sure if he still saw her as his future wife or merely as his daughter-in-law.

"Your Majesty, the Crown Princess seeks an audience." Seeing him seemingly lost in thought and unresponsive for a while, the young eunuch cautiously repeated, assuming he hadn't heard clearly.

Emperor Taishi collected himself and waved his hand, signaling he understood. "Bring her in," he said.

Soon, Bi Linglong, elegantly dressed, walked in and bowed gracefully to him.

Emperor Taishi secretly nodded. The Crown Princess indeed exuded an air of nobility and elegance in every gesture, faultless in every way.

Thinking of this, his expression softened slightly. "Linglong, why have you come so late?" he asked.

Bi Linglong smiled. "Reporting, Father Emperor, I just sensed an anomaly in heaven and earth. It seems someone used an imperial decree to summon your power. Each time the power of an imperial decree is used, it's no small matter. Has something unexpected happened with the imperial envoy delegation in Cloudtop Prefecture?"

Emperor Taishi's eyes narrowed, and his gaze turned somewhat dangerous. "Are you worried about the imperial envoy delegation, or are you worried about Zu An?" he asked coldly.