Chapter 1789: Saving with Life

Zhao Hao's eyes narrowed. Ever since arriving in this world, he had heard legends of the Ghost King everywhere. It seemed the Ghost King was considered the strongest in the world—no, wait, the strongest ghost.

Many of these legends were so outlandish that he found them impossible to believe.

He figured they were mostly exaggerated tales, but there was a small chance some were true.

Because of this, he was quite wary of the Ghost King.

However, he, who had always disdained the world, would not back down in such a matter. "Hmph, a mere Ghost King? What is there for Us to fear? Don't even think of using him to intimidate Us."

He clearly had no intention of continuing to babble with Zu An. Instead, he fixed his gaze on Jing Teng: "Since you are connected to Immortal Lord Baopu, come here."

As he spoke, he directly reached out to her. A phantom golden hand shot towards her, seemingly crossing time and space, appearing almost instantly before her.

Feeling the terrifying pressure, Qiu Honglei instinctively activated her light-element defense ultimate skill, the Wall of Sighs. However, the Wall of Sighs, renowned for its defense, was like paper, effortlessly pierced by the golden hand.

"Lin, Bing, Dou, Zhe, Jie, Zhen, Lie, Qian, Xing! The array is in the north, Xuanwu, heed my command!" Jing Teng's sharp cry rang out.

A phantom Xuanwu appeared around her, surprisingly managing to block the golden hand.

"Oh?" Zhao Hao looked at the phantom Xuanwu with a hint of surprise, evidently not expecting Jing Teng, with her level of cultivation, to be able to summon such a wondrous thing.

However, in his eyes, they were all still mere ants.

With a surge of power, the golden hand clenched.

Cracking sounds echoed, and soon the phantom turtle shell was completely crushed by the golden hand.

Jing Teng was also seized by the golden hand and flew directly towards Zhao Hao.

Her eyes were filled with despair, but what hurt more than despair was a cold heart—that person hadn't helped at all, from beginning to end.

She scoffed at herself, thinking that person would probably take this opportunity to escape.

She had been betrayed once before, and now again. Jing Teng, oh Jing Teng, why do you never learn?

Yet, for some reason, she subconsciously looked towards that person. Just then, she saw a brilliant flash of sword light.

It was more dazzling and radiant than any sword qi she had seen so far, as if witnessing a galaxy descend from up close.

That galaxy-like sword light struck the golden hand, actually severing it directly at the wrist.

The hand holding Jing Teng also dissipated into fragments, and she plummeted from the air.

Qiu Honglei moved first, directly wrapping an arm around Jing Teng's waist to catch her. Seeing Jing Teng's startled expression, she retorted, "What are you looking at? Did you want him to hold you and spin around?"

Jing Teng blushed and pushed her away. She had regained her mobility by then and certainly didn't need to be held. Two women embracing like that, feeling each other's considerable weight, just felt strange.

Qiu Honglei had no mood to bicker with her either. Instead, she moved to Zu An's side, ready to support him at any moment.

Zu An, at this moment, had none of the romantic thoughts they harbored. He was instead staring intently at Zhao Hao with a serious expression, guarding against a sudden attack.

Two old Taoists, Li Changsheng and Xuan Bajing, stared with wide, astonished eyes, completely stunned by the scene they had just witnessed.

What the hell? Even if it were them, they couldn't have withstood the Emperor's grasp, yet this guy Zu An had actually cut it apart with a single sword stroke?

They had seen him fight on Mount Zi before; though impressive then, it wasn't as shocking. It seemed he had deliberately held back.

Both were swordsmen, so they naturally understood the power of that last strike. The invincible intent within the sword intent was truly terrifying.

How old was this guy, and how could he have cultivated his sword intent to such a level?

"We've clearly wasted our entire lives."

Zhao Hao also looked at Zu An with some surprise: "Well, well, I never expected you to have grown to this extent. No wonder you could become the Regent of the demon race."

Before, he had harbored some doubts: even if the demon race was in decline, they had been old adversaries of the human race for many years, so how could this little rascal have seized the position of Regent?

He had even wondered if the newly widowed little Demon Empress had been charmed by his looks, as this guy certainly had a way with women.

It wasn't until he saw this sword strike that he truly understood the other party was indeed worthy of his reputation.

Zu An said gravely, "We are all trapped in this secret realm now, and there's also the legendary, unfathomable Ghost King lurking in the shadows. Why should we fight among ourselves first and let others reap the benefits?"

He quickly added, "To my knowledge, besides the Ghost King, there are also Sun En, the leader of the Divine Firmament Sect, and Zang Ao, the president of the Adventurers' Guild. They both seem to possess cultivation not inferior to Your Majesty's, and they would certainly be interested in this grand tomb. They've likely arrived as well."

Zhao Hao fell into thought. After a moment, he shook his head and said, "If it were before, I might truly have been swayed by you. But your growth is simply too rapid, so fast that it makes me apprehensive. If I let you continue to grow like this, you might truly threaten me. It's more appropriate to deal with you before you fully mature."

Zu An: "..."

Receiving Zhao Hao's affirmation, he was momentarily unsure whether to be happy or sad.

At this moment, Qiu Honglei hastily said, "You are the invincible Emperor, an existence revered by countless cultivators. Shouldn't you admire a junior with exceptional talent? Moreover, I've heard that true masters feel invincibility is a form of loneliness and spend their lives searching for a true opponent. How could you think of striking him down prematurely? It's too... too undignified."

She knew how terrifying Zhao Hao was. Back then, her master, having achieved divine skill, daily looked down on all experts in the world, only to sneak into the palace to assassinate him. Her master didn't even see his face before being severely wounded by a single palm strike.

After that, her master was depressed for a long time, and she didn't know how he eventually recovered.

Although Ah Zu was powerful now, he might not be as strong as her master was back then. Fighting the Emperor would surely be a life-or-death struggle, so she wanted to provoke him with words, hoping the Emperor would back down.

"What a sharp-tongued enchantress," Zhao Hao chuckled. "You must have read too many stories. Those who achieve great things naturally nip dangers in the bud. How enjoyable is it to be invincible throughout the world? Why would I seek out an opponent of equal strength, am I a masochist?"

Speaking of which, he had been rivals with the Demon Emperor for so many years, and neither could overcome the other, which prevented him from wiping out the demon race in one swift go.

The entire process was far from pleasant; he didn't know how many times he had fantasized about the Demon Emperor suddenly dying.

It was a pity that although he eventually got that result, he himself was approaching the Heavenly Five Declines. Compared to dealing with the demon race, immortality was far more important.

Qiu Honglei was momentarily speechless, not expecting the Emperor to have such a lack of decorum for a master.

At this moment, Jing Teng's voice rang out: "Your mindset is wrong. Without the motivation and competition from opponents, it's absolutely impossible to achieve immortality relying solely on yourself. With such thoughts, you are destined to make no further progress in this life."

Zhao Hao's face darkened: "You, with your ant-like cultivation, dare to lecture me?"

Sensing that the other party was truly angered, Zu An subtly moved to shield Jing Teng, fearing a sudden attack.

Seeing his actions, Jing Teng's heart warmed. Without any fear, she raised her head: "My cultivation is indeed like that of an ant, but those words just now weren't mine. They were spoken by Immortal Lord Baopu back then. Although your cultivation is high, it's still far from what the Immortal Lord achieved."

Zhao Hao's expression shifted: "Are there truly immortals in this world?"

"Naturally," Jing Teng replied. "The Immortal Lord is an example."

"Hahaha, it seems heaven has taken pity on me. I've finally found traces of immortal destiny!" Zhao Hao's eyes gleamed with fanaticism. For so many years, his pursuit of immortality had been for elusive things, but only now did it truly feel within reach.

Even Li Changsheng and Xuan Bajing on the side grew eager. As the saying goes, "when one man attains the Dao, even his chickens and dogs ascend to heaven." Perhaps they too...

"Bah, bah, bah! I'm no chicken or dog!"

"In that case, I certainly can't let you leave. I'll deal with this brat Zu An first." Zhao Hao sneered, then suddenly pointed at Zu An. A golden finger appeared on Zu An's forehead, so fast that there was no time to react. The tip of the finger faintly carried the sensation of spatial collapse; clearly, a direct hit would be fatal.

"If you kill him, I won't say another word to you!" Jing Teng shrieked.

Zhao Hao's eyes narrowed. His finger shifted downward, now pointing at Zu An's chest instead.

Zu An had already activated "Great Wind," teleporting dozens of yards away.

Zhao Hao calmly stated, "Space holds no meaning for me."

He made no visible movement, yet the golden finger remained, following like a shadow.

Zu An let out a roar, his longsword flashing as brilliant sword light poured forth.

However, his strike hit nothing. The golden finger had already pressed against his chest.

Zu An spat out a mouthful of blood, his body falling from the air like a tattered sandbag.

"Ah Zu!"

"Young Master Zu!"

Qiu Honglei and Jing Teng were both greatly alarmed, rushing over to check on him.

Zhao Hao said coldly, "I was merely unprepared just now. Now that I've seen that sword strike, how could I fall for it a second time?"

"If you had a few more years, with your sword intent, you might have a chance to fight me. Unfortunately, you're still far from that now."

Li Changsheng and Xuan Bajing exchanged glances, seeing despair in each other's eyes. Fortunately, both had already surrendered to him, so they no longer needed to worry.

Jing Teng saw that Zu An's injuries were severe but not life-threatening. She secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Seeing Zhao Hao approaching, she quickly spread her arms to block him: "Let him go, and I'll go with you!"

Zhao Hao hesitated. He could certainly capture both of them, but if he truly angered this woman and she chose to destroy herself and everything, it would be troublesome, especially since only she knew about Immortal Lord Baopu.

Just then, Zu An placed a hand on Jing Teng's shoulder: "Thank you, Miss Jing, but I'm not the type to rely on sacrificing women to save myself."

Jing Teng grew anxious: "At a time like this, you're still acting tough!"

Qiu Honglei gave her a strange look. She was willing to risk her own life to save him, and still claimed there was nothing between them?

However, with such a great disaster looming, she had no time for jealousy.

Zu An smiled: "Don't worry, I have a way to deal with him."

Zhao Hao was rather amused: "What method could you possibly have to deal with me?"