Chapter 1793: Cooperation

Zu An remained silent. The emperor and common folk truly weren't of the same kind. He had once told him a story about the secret realm, a mixture of truth and falsehood, believing it to be perfectly seamless. But who would have thought that the emperor trusted no one at all? As long as he harbored suspicion, he would simply conclude that you had done something, without needing any reason or evidence, then proceed on the principle of 'better to eliminate wrongly than to let an enemy escape.'

Ultimately, he wasn't of the imperial family, nor was he born into a prominent aristocratic clan. This was why he had so misjudged the emperor's way of thinking.

Seeing Zu An's silence, Zhao Hao smiled and said, "You needn't worry. The fact that I'm discussing this with you means I won't pursue the matter. Instead, I'm using it to demonstrate the sincerity of our cooperation."

He couldn't understand how Zu An, so weak back then, had managed to kill his soul clone. If he could defeat his soul clone across countless cultivation levels then, now that he was even stronger, he should also possess methods to threaten the Ghost King.

Firstly, they could cooperate to deal with that powerful Ghost King. Secondly, he could take the opportunity to uncover Zu An's trump cards, so he could be prepared for the future.

Zu An, meanwhile, secretly sneered. This guy spoke so earnestly, but anyone who believed him would be a fool.

Perhaps now, under the pressure of the Ghost King, he would temporarily cooperate, but given any opportunity, he would certainly settle scores later.

However, with the Ghost King posing such a threat, there was indeed no need for the two weaker parties to fight to the death here.

So he beamed and said, "Your Majesty, what are you saying? I am, after all, a subject of the court and naturally stand on the same side as you."

"Marquis Shen truly understands the greater good," Zhao Hao said, secretly sneering. And so, each harboring their own ulterior motives, the two reached an agreement.

"Your Majesty just exchanged blows with the Ghost King," Zu An asked, "have you thought of a way to deal with him?"

Thinking of the recent humiliating situation, Zhao Hao's expression soured. "His Ghost King's demonic sound has a powerful restraining effect on my primordial spirit," he said. "But if my primordial spirit doesn't leave my body, I can't unleash my full combat power. Also, I shattered many skulls and black mist earlier, but they seemed to have no effect on him at all."

Zu An replied, "He can indeed resist both physical and elemental attacks, which is quite tricky."

"How could he be so unresolvable?" Zhao Hao frowned. "Where did you get this information?"

At this point, Zu An had nothing to hide and roughly explained how he had captured a ghost general previously.

Zhao Hao nodded. "Those ghost generals are his subordinates with low cultivation," he said. "They likely view him with an exaggerated reverence, so it's inevitable they would embellish a bit."

"I actually don't believe anyone can truly be immune to both physical and elemental attacks," Zu An said gravely. "But Your Majesty fought him once before; was it indeed true?"

Zhao Hao recalled, "Indeed. My initial attacks seemed to have no effect on him at all; it really did appear to be physical and elemental immunity. That's why I considered using my primordial spirit to deal with him, but I never expected his demonic sound to be so potent in drawing out souls."

He paused and said, "However, all things in the world operate by their own laws. No rules could create an unresolvable existence. He must have a weakness; we just haven't found it yet."

Zu An secretly nodded. Zhao Hao truly lived up to his reputation as a top-tier expert, immediately grasping the core of the problem.

At this moment, Jing Teng's faint voice sounded, "I seem to have recovered a bit more memory. The Immortal Lord apparently left behind a method to deal with the Ghost King."

"What?" Zhao Hao's eyes lit up instantly. He thought to himself, his decision this time was indeed correct.

Aside from knowing that Zu An possessed some unfathomable trump cards, another part of the reason was this mysterious woman. Her connection to this great tomb was too profound; perhaps finding the immortal fortune would depend on her.

Qiu Honglei also breathed a sigh of relief. "What method? Quickly tell us!"

At least now they didn't have to fight Zhao Hao to the death, and Ah Zu could get a breather.

It would be best if Zhao Hao and the Ghost King both suffered heavy losses...

Jing Teng replied, "That restriction is next to the Immortal Lord's remains, towards..."

She turned her head, surveyed their surroundings, then pointed in a dark direction. "Go this way," she said.

With that, she began leading the way, and Zu An and the others hastily followed. He wondered curiously, "Don't people say the Immortal Lord ascended back then? How are there still remains now?"

Zhao Hao's heart also tensed. If the Bao Pu Immortal Lord hadn't ascended as rumored but merely died, and his disciples had then fabricated stories to spread the word of his ascension, that would be problematic.

Jing Teng shook her head. "I don't know what's going on. The remains might not be a real corpse; it could just be a cenotaph."

The few of them couldn't figure anything out for now and could only go to the site to see for themselves.

Although it was dark in the great tomb, Qiu Honglei possessed light-elemental abilities and also had a palace lantern. Thus illuminated, the group continued deeper.

However, compared to the laughter and chatter that had accompanied them earlier, the atmosphere was now somewhat heavy.

After all, with the terrifying presence of Zhao Hao nearby, they could all be fighting to the death at any moment.

Perhaps to ease the awkwardness, Zhao Hao spoke, "Yours seems like Sect Master Yun's Changxin Palace Lantern."

Qiu Honglei hummed in response. "It's not the original version," she said. "Someone in the sect imitated it based on Master's; its power is far inferior."

"The Demonic Sect indeed has many talented people if they can even imitate the Changxin Palace Lantern," Zhao Hao said, showing none of his usual fierce dominance; instead, he resembled a benevolent elder. "I remember your master also entered the secret realm. Where is she?"

Qiu Honglei glanced at Zu An, then carefully replied, "We got separated, but presumably, she should also come near this great tomb."

At the same time, her heart was filled with worry. It would be terrible if her master accidentally encountered the Ghost King.

Zhao Hao nodded. He had originally intended to praise Yun Jianyue a few words, but then he remembered that she had once entered the imperial palace to assassinate him and ended up being slapped away by him without even seeing his face. To praise her now would truly go against his conscience.

Zu An guessed his thoughts. However, after Sister Yun's experience in the Xia Dynasty secret realm last time, her cultivation had advanced by leaps and bounds; she was much stronger than before.

"Your Majesty, have you seen the Libationer these days?"

They had become entangled and fallen into this secret realm together back then, so theoretically, they should be nearby.

Zhao Hao shook his head and said resentfully, "I haven't seen him at all. Who knows where he went to die?"

If it weren't for the Libationer's scheme, how could he have been dragged into this dangerous secret realm?

But then again, it was precisely because of this that he had the chance to encounter immortal fortune. Truly, destiny was on his side.

Zu An fell into thought. Logically, with the Libationer's cultivation, he shouldn't be unknown even in this world.

"What exactly is this young lady's relationship with the Bao Pu Immortal Lord?" Zhao Hao asked, feigning nonchalance. "Why does she know so much about this great tomb?" The main reason he had initiated conversation earlier was his primary interest in Jing Teng.

"I was merely a vine in the mountains and wilds back then," Jing Teng replied. "The Immortal Lord happened to pass by one time and casually enlightened me." There was nothing to hide about this. After speaking, she looked towards Zu An. "From what I just heard you say, it sounds like you're not from this world?"

Zu An hesitated for a moment, then nodded and said, "That's right. We were merely unintentionally drawn into this secret realm due to an accident..."

After speaking, he roughly explained the concept of a secret realm to her.

"A secret realm?" Jing Teng's eyes showed some confusion, but she quickly shook her head. "In my view, this world is real; it may not be just a secret realm as you say. And perhaps, from the perspective of people in our world, your world might also be a secret realm."

The others were all stunned simultaneously. Previous secret realms were either sparsely populated or spatial fragments left from ancient times. So, everyone naturally viewed those secret realms with a sense of superiority, considering them merely as storage places for various rare treasures and inheritances. They had never imagined that a secret realm could also be a real world.

Zu An, on the other hand, found it easier to accept, as some of the secret realms he had visited previously already resembled vast, new worlds.

Zhao Hao said in a deep voice, "Historically, such a thing has basically never happened. Secret realms are either dead zones or, at most, contain some fierce beasts, and their spatial scope is limited. I've never heard of a world this vast. The appearance of such a secret realm most likely signifies a great change in the world. Could something be happening in our world that I don't know about...?"

Zu An fell into deep thought. Zhao Hao was the strongest person in the world and the emperor of the human race; if he said it hadn't happened before, then it hadn't. Yet, Zu An had encountered it several times recently, proving that the world had indeed changed. Could it be the spiritual energy resurgence described in novels?

"Are you going to leave this world later?" Jing Teng's voice rang out.

Zu An looked up and found her large, beautiful eyes gazing at him.

For some reason, Zu An suddenly felt a pang of reluctance, but he still nodded and said, "That's right. Once we complete some specific tasks, we will return to our own world."

"Oh." Although Jing Teng said nothing, everyone could see the sense of loss in her eyes.

Zhao Hao watched coldly, thinking, "Is this kid Zu An some kind of human aphrodisiac? How does he manage to charm women wherever he goes?"

Letting him enter the palace earlier might have been a huge mistake...

Qiu Honglei's gaze darted back and forth between the two, thinking, "Is it easy for me? It's truly impossible to guard against everything."

"Abbot Yan, it's not that I'm not trying hard, but other women are just too proactive."

Just as she was about to speak, Qiu Honglei suddenly noticed something amiss. "Do you feel it's getting hotter and hotter?"