Chapter 1460: Battle Focus

Seeing her secret about to be exposed, Yan Xuehen's mind went blank. *This is it, this is it,* she thought. *That demoness will mock me to death now.*

What would Yu Yanluo think of her?

More importantly, what would her disciple, Chu Yan, think once she found out?

Not to mention, it would tarnish the entire White Jade Capital's reputation, making her a target of ridicule and scorn for everyone.

She even felt an urge to draw her sword and end her life.

Fortunately, Zu An reacted quickly, clamping a hand over Mo Xi's mouth.

"Mmph... mmph mmph..." Mo Xi's subsequent words became muffled and indistinct.

Normally, with her cultivation, Zu An would never be able to touch her, but severely wounded and weakened, she had no time to dodge.

She was initially annoyed, but seeing his and Yan Xuehen's reactions, she immediately understood: these two were secretly having an affair.

Her curiosity quickly took over, and her beautiful eyes darted between the two, no longer minding the physical contact.

Yun Jianyue frowned. "What *'qing'* are they? Little An, why are you covering her mouth?"

Zu An quickly explained, "It's mainly because her current condition is very poor. She's already severely injured and has been continuously expending energy. I'm worried she might dissipate, so I'm trying to make her go to sleep early."

At the same time, he secretly communicated with Mo Xi.

"I'll put you away now. Your condition is really bad."

"It's fine, a little more won't hurt. I want to watch the show."

Seeing Zu An grind his teeth, Mo Xi smiled faintly and quietly replied, "Of course, I can cooperate, but it'll cost you. Those fruits from before, 100 of them—no, 200!"

Although she hadn't eaten them before, the body's strong memories made her mouth water.

Zu An knew she was referring to the Primordial Qi Fruits. Given the situation, there was no time to bargain. "Alright!" he agreed.

At this point, Yu Yanluo also spoke up, "Ah Zu, Mo Xi is weak right now. Don't suffocate her."

Zu An thought, *You clearly want to hear what Mo Xi has to say next, yet you insist on putting it so righteously. When did you become so scheming?*

*But for every foot the Dao rises, the Devil rises ten. I was still clever enough to handle her quickly.*

Meanwhile, Yun Jianyue impatiently urged, "Little An, let go of her quickly. Do you two really have something scandalous to hide?"

Yan Xuehen, staring nervously at Zu An, shook her head slightly, her eyes full of pleading.

If Mo Xi's mouth remained covered, the others would only suspect, and she could simply deny everything.

But if Mo Xi spoke, then everything would truly be over.

Zu An smiled at her, then released his hand from Mo Xi's mouth. Yan Xuehen was speechless.

She was practically going crazy. *That scoundrel!*

"There's really nothing to it. If you don't believe me, ask her yourselves." Zu An spread his hands.

Yun Jianyue and Yu Yanluo immediately fixed their gaze on Mo Xi. "You just said they were 'qing' something? Lovers?"

Mo Xi replied with a beaming smile, "They entered a contract out of necessity, likely to deal with a powerful enemy. Oh, why would you think they were lovers?"

Zu An secretly gave a thumbs-up. As expected of a historically famous seductive concubine; though her appearance was that of a valiant female general, when it came to scheming, she was absolutely relentless.

"Is that so?" Yu Yanluo was somewhat puzzled, feeling that something wasn't quite right.

"What kind of contract can be used to face a powerful enemy? I've never heard of it." Yun Jianyue wasn't so easily fooled; her sharp eyes scrutinizing Zu An and Yan Xuehen.

At this moment, Yan Xuehen also reacted, worried that Zu An might blurt out something and fail to deceive a Grandmaster like Yun Jianyue. So she quickly interjected, "Back then, on the Great Snow Mountain, we encountered a Snow Maiden who was an Earth Immortal. We couldn't defeat her, so we had to use a secret technique contract to borrow and activate each other's power. That's how we barely escaped."

"Is that right? You and I have been rivals for so many years, yet I've never heard of such a secret contract in your White Jade Capital." Yun Jianyue frowned. They had heard about the Snow Maiden incident, but hadn't realized this additional factor was involved.

Yan Xuehen's heart pounded, but she maintained a calm demeanor. "It's not from White Jade Capital. I obtained it accidentally in a secret realm many years ago. Hmph, why should I explain so much to you? Why would I let you know my trump cards?"

She was worried that Yun Jianyue might seek confirmation from people in White Jade Capital later, so she didn't even dare to claim it was from there.

Yun Jianyue remained skeptical. Beside her, Yu Yanluo suddenly said, "So, you and Ah Zu's internal energies have been connected all this time?"

She thought, *No wonder I felt they were a bit strange earlier. It seems I wasn't just imagining things.*

This unexpected question nearly made Yan Xuehen blush intensely. *What did she mean, 'connected'?*

Their energies *were* indeed connected during the Great Snow Mountain incident. She quickly explained, "Of course not. That was merely a temporary measure, and it hasn't been activated since. This secret contract is quite unique, and I can't undo it myself, which is why I troubled Miss Mo Xi."

Mo Xi's lips curved upward slightly. *This woman looks pure and ethereal; I thought she was a respectable lady, but now I see she's just as alluring and cunning as I am.*

Yan Xuehen's explanation left Yun Jianyue and Yu Yanluo still somewhat skeptical. Zu An quickly seized the opportunity to summon Mo Xi back to that special space.

Just then, a powerful ripple of energy suddenly erupted in the distance.

"That's an Earth Immortal level battle!" Yun Jianyue no longer cared about gossip, her attention quickly drawn to the commotion.

Yan Xuehen quietly let out a sigh of relief. "That seems to be the Demon Emperor's power."

Yun Jianyue nodded. "He appears to be fighting a powerful entity whose cultivation is no less than his own."

Yu Yanluo couldn't help but exclaim, "There are truly too many powerful experts in this secret realm! Ah Zu, how did you ever manage to escape those few Unknowable Lands alive before?"

Zu An said gravely, "Every Unknowable Land has its core formation. Only by resolving the issue of the core formation can one leave; otherwise, you'll be trapped in this secret realm for life."

"Where exactly is this secret realm's core formation? We retraced Yi's heroic journey, even dealt with the ten suns in the sky, and were passively involved in the severing of the Celestial-Mortal Path. Why can't we leave yet?" Yun Jianyue was annoyed. They had done so much along the way, but it all seemed futile so far.

The crucial point was that these Unknowable Lands offered no mission clues, leaving them without any direction for their efforts.

This world was incredibly vast; even if they tried the painstaking method of searching every inch, it would be impossible.

Zu An pondered for a moment before saying, "Based on my previous experience, each Unknowable Land is connected to an ancient dynasty and often involves some famous ruler from that dynasty, whether it's a founding emperor or a fallen monarch."

"Jie of Xia, who just died, was the fallen monarch of the Xia Dynasty. Oh, and by the way, Mo Xi was his empress at the time."

"This Unknowable Land is likely connected to the Xia Dynasty. Since Jie of Xia isn't the core formation, then what the core formation *is* becomes quite clear."

"Who is it?" The three women were somewhat bewildered. They knew nothing about these ancient dynasties and were curious how Zu An knew so much.

"Do you remember whom Shun told us we needed to defeat by retracing the hero's journey and gaining the artifacts' recognition?" Zu An gazed into the distance, his eyes deep.

"Yu the Great, the founding monarch of the Xia Dynasty?" Although the three women weren't familiar with Xia Dynasty history, their memories were exceptional, so they naturally recalled Shun's words. "But since the Celestial-Mortal Path was severed, Shun dissipated prematurely. Where would we find Yu the Great now?"

Zu An said in a low voice, "Do you think the Demon Emperor is foolish?"

"Of course not," Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue replied in unison. "On the contrary, he's one of the most brilliant and talented people in the world, or he wouldn't be one of the two strongest."

"If that's the case," Zu An said, "we've uncovered so much information during this time. What about the remarkably brilliant Demon Emperor?"

The three women's eyes lit up. "Are you saying..."

"If I'm not mistaken, we've uncovered half of this Unknowable Land's secrets," Zu An paused, his expression somewhat grave, "The other half is most likely in the Demon Emperor's hands!"