Chapter 1742: Playing Something Exciting

“Your Majesty, what a coincidence,” Xuan Bajing said, forcing a smile that looked worse than a grimace.

Li Changsheng, too, had lost his usual carefree elegance; his face was as black as coal.

“Yes, indeed, quite coincidental,” Zhao Hao said, beaming at them. “I never expected to run into you two here. By the way, your previous schemes were quite impressive.”

Xuan Bajing broke out in a cold sweat and immediately pleaded for mercy. “Your Majesty, forgive me! What happened before was entirely King Qi forcing my hand. I was utterly powerless, which is how I ended up offending Your Majesty. I beg Your Majesty to be magnanimous and pardon me!”

Li Changsheng inwardly disdained him, finding the fellow's fawning behavior truly nauseating.

He straightened his attire, then addressed Zhao Hao, “Your Majesty, you'll likely need some subordinates to help handle miscellaneous tasks in this unknown world. Please grant us a chance to atone for our sins.”

Xuan Bajing was dumbfounded. *This fellow always put on such an air of haughty independence; I thought you’d be so formidable and unyielding. Is this all you’ve got?*

Zhao Hao frowned. “You just plotted against Us moments ago, and now you’re groveling. How could We ever trust the loyalty of people like you?”

Li Changsheng said, “If Your Majesty doesn't believe us, we can swear an oath to Heaven and Earth!”

Although the consequences of such an oath were severe, as long as there was life, there was hope; this offered more possibilities than immediate death.

Xuan Bajing thought to himself, *Is this guy really going that far?*

But he didn't have time to ponder it. He quickly nodded and said, “Indeed, I am also willing to swear an oath to Heaven and Earth, to pledge loyalty to Your Majesty.”

Zhao Hao fell silent in contemplation. Oaths to Heaven and Earth were indeed very difficult to violate; moreover, as members of the Daoist sect, such oaths had an even stronger binding force.

However, he was not swayed. He said indifferently, “You are both severely wounded now, only slightly better than invalids. What use do We have for you?”

His tone grew chilling towards the end. Everything that had happened today had kindled a furious fire in his heart. In all these years, he had never been in such a pathetic state, and it was all thanks to these ants.

Thinking of this, his eyes gleamed with murderous intent.

Feeling as if he was being stared at by an ancient primeval beast, Xuan Bajing knew his life was likely down to its last few breaths. At this moment, inspiration struck him, and he quickly said, “Your Majesty, although your divine power is unparalleled, you are equally ignorant about this world. We can help you explore it. We can even serve as human shields to test some of the mechanisms.”

Li Changsheng was dumbfounded. *This fellow is truly shameless. A dignified Grandmaster actually lowering himself to such an extent?*

However, with his life hanging in the balance, he had no choice but to chime in, while inwardly cursing Xuan Bajing to death.

Zhao Hao’s thoughts stirred. There was some truth to what they said. He had grown to his current level by fighting in many secret realms in his younger days, and he knew that some special mechanisms there required several people to cooperate to break them. What if he encountered them again this time? Being alone would indeed be troublesome.

His expression softened slightly at this thought. “Very well. Considering your sincerity, We shall forgive you this time. Swear your oaths to Heaven and Earth.”

Of course, he would not easily trust their words; he naturally needed means to keep them in check.

Xuan Bajing and Li Changsheng exchanged glances, both seeing the helplessness in the other's eyes. But with things having come to this, they had no other choice.

So they each swore their oaths. Soon, it felt as if Heaven and Earth responded, and invisible, intangible, profoundly mysterious threads of law seemed to entwine around their bodies.

Zhao Hao listened carefully to their oaths, and seeing that they played no tricks, he nodded in satisfaction.

Xuan Bajing and Li Changsheng breathed a sigh of relief at this. Then they cautiously spoke, “Your Majesty, since you woke up first, have you discovered anything about this world?”

“No,” Zhao Hao replied slowly. “The only discovery is that this world is exceptionally sinister and evil; it’s likely connected to undead creatures.”

Actually, there was another discovery. After arriving at this place, he had initially tried to explore the world with his primordial spirit to get a full grasp of it. However, not long after his primordial spirit left his body, he felt a sense of danger, as if something in this world could threaten his primordial spirit.

Zhao Hao found it somewhat unbelievable. In the past, he would most likely have ignored it and investigated thoroughly first. After all, having been unrivaled in the world for so many years, he didn't believe anything could truly harm him.

But after what happened today, where he was almost pushed to the brink by King Qi and the Grand Chancellor's schemes, he had no choice but to become more cautious.

“Undead creatures?” Xuan Bajing and Li Changsheng were startled, then a flicker of secret delight appeared in their hearts. As high-ranking Daoists, they naturally knew some methods to counter undead beings.

Undead creatures often lacked true consciousness; even if powerful, they were relatively easier to deal with.

Xuan Bajing and Li Changsheng each took out a pill and put it into their mouths. A hint of color returned to their faces, as their injuries had clearly improved somewhat.

They then remembered something, their faces turning pale. “Your subordinates deserve death,” they said. “We should have offered healing pills to Your Majesty immediately.”

After speaking, both felt a little strange. Why were they so in sync? Normally, they were flattered by their subordinates in their sects, yet now, they had switched to flattering others so naturally.

Alas, it was all due to the immense pressure Zhao Hao exerted.

Zhao Hao said indifferently, “Why would We need your pills? Eat them yourselves, recover quickly. We do not keep useless people among Our subordinates.”

While Li Changsheng and Xuan Bajing were terrified, they also felt a sense of admiration. Zhao Hao had just gone through major battles with King Qi and the Grand Chancellor, yet now he seemed completely unharmed, showing no visible injuries at all, which was truly admirable.

The two quickly composed themselves and began to meditate to recover. As individuals with transcendent status in their respective sects, the pills they carried were also extraordinary. As the medicinal power spread, they gradually recovered a portion of their strength.

Just as they were about to speak, they suddenly noticed two other people lying not far away and were startled. “Who are they?”

The group now seemed to be in a dilapidated ancestral hall. Due to Zhao Hao's intimidating presence earlier, neither of them had dared to be distracted in the slightest. Only now did they discover that two others were lying in a corner.

Zhao Hao said indifferently, “How would We know?”

These two were already here when he woke up. They appeared to be cultivators as well.

Li Changsheng and Xuan Bajing exchanged glances. Each chose a target and, after checking their condition, proceeded to wake them up.

“You… who are you?” The two slowly woke up, startled by the scene before them.

They were actually well-known experts themselves, but the three people before them, each had an aura more powerful than the last—especially the one in yellow robes… Yellow robes?

“Your Majesty?” They were considerably shocked by this revelation.

Zhao Hao remained noncommittal. Li Changsheng and Xuan Bajing questioned the two about their identities. They soon learned that the newcomers were also cultivators from the Great Zhou Dynasty. Each had been exploring a secret realm, and just as they were about to succeed, they had inexplicably been drawn into this place.

The two's cultivation levels were not low, both around the eighth rank. However, in front of these three individuals, they could only tremble like quails.

Zhao Hao pondered. Logically, given the Grand Chancellor and Yan Xianggu's mastery of array formations, the great banishment array they meticulously set up over so many years shouldn't have malfunctioned. But it did. Not only did it teleport them here, but it also seemed to have absorbed people from other secret realms.

What could be the reason?

Just then, a sinister laugh echoed: “Hehe, everyone’s here. We can begin now.”

Zhao Hao’s expression changed. He stared intently at a certain spot. Given his cultivation level, it was impossible that he hadn't detected anyone approaching until the sound was made. How could this be?

At that moment, a monster with a lion's body and a woman's face suddenly appeared at the doorway. It surveyed the entire scene and nodded, saying, “Excellent. Time for some excitement.”

Zhao Hao snorted coldly. Without a word, he directly extended a large golden hand and almost instantly seized the monster.

At that moment, the monster burst into a puff of black mist and dissipated. The next second, a cloud of black mist rose elsewhere, re-forming into the monster's shape.

Li Changsheng and Xuan Bajing instantly widened their eyes. Zhao Hao, the unrivaled one—his move had actually failed to seize the opponent? What was the origin of this monster?

Zhao Hao also frowned slightly. He had already mastered the laws of space; even if the opponent could teleport just now, they shouldn't have been able to escape his grasp. Yet they did.

This could only mean the opponent wasn't in this world!

His spatial abilities only functioned within the same world; he couldn't yet travel through space between different worlds.