Chapter 1790: Ghost King Appears

Fantasy Novel

Although he said that, Zhao Hao was somewhat surprised. That single finger strike just now would have given even a Grandmaster a hard time, yet this boy's body didn't collapse on the spot; he only coughed up some blood?

Zu An secretly rejoiced. His body, tempered multiple times by the Primordial Chaos Scripture, was incredibly strong. Coupled with Jing Teng's intervention, which caused the opponent to retract some of his power, he had ultimately managed to block the attack.

However, the headache was that the finger strike also carried a hint of spatial destruction intent, which was continuously eroding his meridians, preventing the self-repair of a cultivator's vital energy, and even subtly threatening to invade further into his body.

If other cultivators had been struck by Zhao Hao's finger, a Master's body might have instantly turned into a bloody mist. A Grandmaster, too, would be gradually eroded by this spatial collapse intent, eventually becoming a cripple. No wonder that guy didn't continue his attack; in his view, Zu An was probably already crippled.

But how could Zhao Hao have known Zu An had learned so many divine arts!

After a brief thought, Zu An activated the Gluttonous Devouring Heaven Art and, with the power of Kun Peng, began to absorb the destructive energy that had invaded his body.

That wisp of destructive energy was indeed overbearing. Sensing the provocation, it immediately surged forward, attempting to completely disintegrate him.

However, both the Gluttonous Devouring Heaven Art and Kun Peng's skills were supreme, mysterious entities. When combined, they became capable of absorbing anything.

Soon, the destructive energy sensed something amiss and tried to escape, but how could it escape that black hole-like suction?

It was quickly and thoroughly devoured, transforming into the purest energy.

Zu An even felt his internal experience bar increase significantly, an effect comparable to when he had absorbed the two Ghost Generals earlier.

This Zhao Hao was truly formidable. Just a casual wisp of his vital energy could have such terrifying effects.

Of course, on the surface, Zu An showed no signs of recovery, still feigning severe injury from the destructive force, making it seem difficult to heal.

So, in Zhao Hao's eyes, it was quite amusing. His destructive power, fused with his understanding of space, could not be undone by Zu An, let alone the two Grandmasters beside him. Zu An was already doomed to become a cripple, yet he still dared to boast here.

He couldn't be bothered to waste words on a dying man and instead looked directly at Jing Teng: "I've already shown mercy; you should at least show some sincerity, otherwise..."

He didn't continue, but the threat was obvious.

Jing Teng hesitated, about to reveal some information to temporarily appease him, but Zu An stopped her.

Zhao Hao's eyes narrowed: "Zu An, do you really think I won't kill you?"

Zu An smiled faintly: "I just need to say a word to them. Once I'm done, I won't stop you from asking her any questions. I'm already severely injured; you're not worried we can turn the tables, are you?"

Zhao Hao frowned, but ultimately said nothing, tacitly allowing his action.

This fool, does he really think I won't hear him at such a close distance?

Even if they used spirit energy for transmission, with his understanding of space, he could hear clearly if he deliberately listened.

This was a good opportunity to see what they would say, especially Jing Teng, and if she would secretly tell Zu An the secret.

At this moment, Qiu Honglei and Wei Suo also gathered around. Zu An beckoned, signaling everyone to come closer.

The others, assuming he wanted to hide something from the Emperor, curiously leaned in, wanting to hear what he had to say.

"When I yell 'run' later, everyone run in that direction..." Zu An whispered.

From a distance, Zhao Hao looked scornful. He had thought this guy had some ingenious plan, but this was it?

Even Qiu Honglei was somewhat puzzled. The Emperor's cultivation was so high; how could they possibly escape?

Just then, Zu An yelled: "Run!"

Almost simultaneously, he grabbed Wei Suo beside him and threw him directly towards Zhao Hao.

Caught off guard, Wei Suo spun like a projectile.

At the same time, Zu An pulled Qiu Honglei with one hand and Jing Teng with the other, dashing away into the distance.

"What a cowardly wretch, trying to use a friend's life to buy time?" Zhao Hao scoffed, sweeping his palm towards Wei Suo. This strike was enough to shatter the man into minced meat; it wouldn't delay him for even a moment.

Even Jing Teng frowned. She was grateful that Zu An hadn't betrayed her earlier, even actively stepping in front of her to save her.

But now he had betrayed another person. Although Wei Suo looked crude and his words and actions were annoying, he was still Zu An's friend.

To betray a friend so unhesitatingly just to escape?

Qiu Honglei was equally bewildered, but having been with Zu An for so long, she trusted his character and believed there must be some hidden intention behind his action.

At that instant, Zhao Hao's face suddenly changed, and he hurriedly shifted direction, moving sideways to dodge.

Seeing his movement, Li Changsheng and Xuan Bajing felt baffled, wondering why the Emperor was dodging. Even if the other party had hidden gunpowder or poison on Wei Suo, it couldn't possibly harm him.

Just then, a dense cloud of black mist suddenly surged from Wei Suo, filled with countless eerie, silently screaming skulls. As the black mist appeared, the entire space was instantly enveloped by an extremely cold and sinister aura.

Suddenly, countless skull heads flew out from the black mist, rapidly tearing towards Zhao Hao.

Zhao Hao blazed with golden light, his fingers repeatedly striking, utterly shattering the attacking skull heads.

But he had only just casually unleashed a palm, treating Wei Suo like an ant. How could he have known that the other party was actually such a terrifying entity?

The initiative was lost, and he couldn't block all of them. Several skull heads struck his body, and he was instantly contaminated by a burst of black energy.

Fortunately, he reacted quickly and dodged in time, creating enough safe distance.

He circulated his profound art, and his entire body blazed with golden light, expelling all the black energy that had invaded his body.

Even so, he still spat out a mouthful of fresh blood, clearly having sustained a considerable injury from that attack.

Xuan Bajing and Li Changsheng were both aghast. What kind of being could injure Zhao Hao with a single strike?

One should know that back at the Purple Mountain altar, despite all their schemes and the concerted attacks of so many top experts, he had never been so discomfited.

"Ghost King?" Zhao Hao's expression turned grim, staring fixedly at the figure. With such an appearance and such power, who else in the world could it be but the Ghost King?

The black mist and skulls coalesced into a gigantic ghostly face, but it did not answer Zhao Hao's question. Instead, it looked towards Zu An: "How did you see through my identity?"

Qiu Honglei's face lit up, thinking, "As expected, Ah Zu is not that kind of person."

Speaking of which, this was the Ghost King? He looked truly ugly.

Thinking that he had been following them all this time, she immediately shuddered with cold dread.

Jing Teng also widened her eyes, staring at the Ghost King, never imagining that a legendary being would be hidden right beside them.

However, facing such a terrifying existence, she secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Zu An had not betrayed his friend. Sigh, speaking of which, Qiu Honglei had trusted him unreservedly just now, while she had harbored suspicions in her heart. She truly fell short of Qiu Honglei in that regard.

Huh, wait a minute, why did she need to compare herself to her?

She was also curious how Zu An had figured it out.

Feeling locked onto by a terrifying aura, Zu An wisely decided not to continue running, fearing he might inadvertently attract the Ghost King's enmity to himself, which would make all his previous efforts useless.

He sighed: "It's actually quite easy to notice. I know Wei Suo's personality best. True to his name, he has an inherent perverted streak deep in his bones. For the past few days, it's been difficult to sense it. Although you tried your best to disguise it, it's similar but not quite right."

Jing Teng and Qiu Honglei secretly nodded. Wei Suo was a prime example of a person who fantasized about having a life-and-death encounter with a female ghost, drooling at the sight of beautiful women, with an undeniable sleazy and lewd aura about him.

These past few days, he seemed to have become more normal. They had thought at the time that he had developed some resistance to their beauty after spending so much time with them.

Ah Zu was more observant and immediately noticed the anomaly.

"Just because of that, you knew I was impersonating him?" The Ghost King was clearly dissatisfied with this answer. "You were so sure you threw him out as a shield? What if you were wrong? Wouldn't that harm your friend?"

"Of course not just that," Zu An said, looking at the ghostly face formed by black mist and skulls in the air, while pondering what kind of being this guy was. "Wei Suo is most fearful of death—this isn't necessarily a derogatory term, it's simply his nature. His first reaction to danger is to flee. Yet, outside the grand tomb earlier, seeing so many terrifying beings, I told him to go first, but he insisted on staying with me out of loyalty, talking about facing difficulties together."

He shook his head: "The real Wei Suo, in that situation, would have certainly bolted, while also trying to persuade me not to take risks. If he couldn't persuade me, he would have left himself, euphemistically saying he wouldn't be a burden to me."

Thinking of his old friend's character, Zu An couldn't help but crack a smile.

"Still too far-fetched," the Ghost King shook its head.

"The most compelling evidence was when we entered the grand tomb. He almost fell when we were jostled by the crowd. I noticed that while he seemed to stumble, his movement technique was actually very subtle, consciously or unconsciously avoiding some fatal injuries," Zu An paused. "So, when I helped him, I gripped his wrist, and I found he had no pulse!"