Chapter 1819

Zu An was able to fight above his level against these top-tier beings because of his defenses, which included the Taotie Devouring Heaven Art and Kun Peng's ability to absorb and neutralize attacks far exceeding what typical cultivators could withstand. His offense, the Shattered Star Seal passed down by Yun Jianyue, was what allowed him to pose a threat to such powerful entities.

Otherwise, if someone else of Zu An's current cultivation level were here, entities like the Ghost King or Zhao Hao could stand still and let them attack, and they still might not break through their defenses. A casual slap could easily crush all their flashy defenses, turning them into a meat patty.

This is why the Ghost King was so bewildered at this moment. It was like an elephant fighting an ant; he expected a complete stomp, but instead, they were trading fierce blows. Although the elephant still had the upper hand, this phenomenon was enough to make its eyes pop out in surprise.

Zu An did not answer the Ghost King. Instead, he was concerned. The Ghost King's abilities were too bizarre; he would find it very difficult to handle him alone. There might be a chance if they combined their strength, but currently, the women were resisting his Demonic Sound Soul Absorption and couldn't join the fight.

Thinking this, he suddenly had an idea and shouted at the Ghost King, "What are you looking at?"

"What about it?" the Ghost King instinctively replied, a little stunned.

Although he had seen Zu An use this skill before, he didn't expect to be immune to it himself. The high-level principles behind this skill were truly chilling.

Zu An, however, frowned. "What are you looking at?" failed to interrupt the opponent's Demonic Sound Soul Absorption. Although the Ghost King had responded, countless skulls around them were still shrieking with open mouths, completely unaffected.

Damn it, why does this monster have so many mouths?

"I find myself growing more and more interested in you," the Ghost King said, scrutinizing Zu An as if he were some rare entity. He even began to consider Zu An worthy of mention in the "Inner Chapters of the Baopuzi," believing there were too many secrets on him worth uncovering.

Zu An calmly replied, "Too bad I'm not interested in you."

After speaking, he immediately activated the "Yiku Experience Card," but unfortunately, the opponent showed no reaction.

The Ghost King paused, vaguely sensing that a peculiar spell had hit him, but nothing else changed.

"So Sun En transformed like that because he was hit by this spell?" he murmured, carefully observing and trying to deconstruct the skill's principle. Unfortunately, he only felt an immense profundity that he couldn't comprehend.

Zu An exclaimed, "You're still a pure, innocent virgin?"

It was truly frustrating. He claimed to be the ruler of the Yin and Yang realms, the King of a Myriad Ghosts, yet such an existence had never experienced intimacy between men and women. That was simply preposterous!

The Ghost King snorted coldly, "By what right do you assume my gender?"

Zu An: "???"

"Don't tell me you're female."

"Are you so lustful that you're imagining I'm female?" the Ghost King sneered. "An existence like me naturally has no gender distinction. How could a low-level creature like you understand the nature of a higher life form like myself?"

On the other side, the women all had strange expressions, but they weren't looking at the Ghost King; they were looking at Zu An.

What was this guy thinking all day to actually fantasize that the Ghost King was female?

Seeing a series of rage points rising in the background, Zu An felt a massive headache. He didn't understand why they were angry. The Ghost King denied being male, so it was perfectly reasonable for him to guess it was female. How was he supposed to know it was a genderless monster?

"I don't like that look in your eyes," the Ghost King said, his face darkening. The surrounding black mist suddenly began to boil, and then the skulls became crystalline, their surfaces resembling jade.

At this point, the jade-like skulls once again swarmed Zu An. Both their strength and speed had increased several times over.

Zu An was immediately in a perilous situation. After all, the Taotie Devouring Heaven Art and Kun Peng's devouring power had limits. His opponent wasn't going to give him time to slowly absorb, and his body couldn't withstand devouring too much in a short period.

Seeing Zu An's dangerous predicament, the women were extremely anxious. However, to suppress them, the Ghost King had left a dense circle of skulls shrieking at them. Protected by the Xuanwu and various arrays, they could barely hold on. But if they left their current position, their souls would likely be instantly absorbed. Not only would they be unable to help Zu An, but they would also distract him and cause chaos.

Ultimately, their strength gap with the Ghost King was too vast. Not everyone was as monstrous as Zu An, capable of fighting against such an entity several levels above them.

Xie Daoyun was struggling to maintain the array when a voice suddenly echoed in her ear: "Miss Xie, would you be willing to be my successor?"

Xie Daoyun's hair immediately stood on end. The voice was too familiar; everyone had been chatting together frequently lately.

Who else could it be but Sun En?

But he had just been ambushed and killed by the Ghost King!

She turned her head to look and saw Sun En's corpse lying near the array, his eyes wide open, clearly beyond dead.

At this moment, his voice sounded again: "Don't look there, I'm here."

Xie Daoyun followed the sound and noticed a talisman quietly floating beside Sun En's corpse.

The Supreme Divine Firmament Talisman!

"You're still alive?" Xie Daoyun asked hastily via telepathy, afraid of alerting the Ghost King.

"Alas, I'm already dead. Only a wisp of my lingering consciousness is attached to this talisman," Sun En sighed. "One who hunts geese all day eventually gets pecked in the eye by a goose."

Having been ambushed twice by Zang Ao, he was clearly quite unwilling to accept it.

However, upon learning that the assailant was the Ghost King, he couldn't help but feel a sense of "so that's how it is."

"To be brief, my divine sense is quickly dissipating," Sun En said, his voice tinged with urgency. "I cannot let the Three Talismans of the Divine Firmament Sect be lost through my hands, becoming a sinner in the sect's history. We've conversed quite well along this journey, and I know you have considerable skill in runes and arrays. It would be fitting to pass my legacy to you."

Xie Daoyun hesitated, "But I have a master. I cannot switch to another sect."

Sun En retorted ungraciously, "You don't need to formally join my sect. I only hope that, out of this connection, you might look after the Divine Firmament Sect if the opportunity arises in the future."

He felt extremely frustrated. In normal times, he was an existence countless people begged to become his disciple, and he would disdain them. He never imagined that now, trying to take a young girl as a disciple, she would refuse, and he would have to plead with her, without even a formal master-disciple relationship.

Oh, how demeaning.

At this point, Xie Daoyun looked troubled. "But I'm not actually from this world. I'm afraid I won't have the energy to look after your sect."

Sun En: "..."

If he still had a physical body at that moment, he would probably have spit out a mouthful of old blood.

Karma. This was probably retribution for bullying that noble lady back then.

Alas, they had lived together for a while back then, but she found an opportunity to commit suicide, and only then did he realize he had unknowingly fallen in love with her.

Unfortunately, time couldn't be rewound. This incident also became his inner demon, and he likely failed his tribulation back then because of it.

For some reason, from the moment he first saw Xie Daoyun, he couldn't help but think of her from back then.

Although the two didn't resemble each other at all, perhaps it was the noble lady's demeanor about Xie Daoyun that reminded him of the past.

That's why he hadn't made things difficult for her and Yun Jianyue along the way; on the contrary, they had found their conversations very congenial.

"Alright, alright, you don't need to look after it. Just ensure these three talismans have a successor. When you're old and eventually die, you can pass them on to your children or your disciples, whichever you prefer." Through their conversations on the journey, Sun En had, in fact, vaguely guessed that neither of the women were from this world.

The key was that *none* of the people present were from this world!

I can't exactly pass them to the Ghost King, can I?

Never mind, as long as the three talismans can be passed down, fate will naturally guide them.

"You're not trying to take over my body, are you?" Seeing how accommodating he was, Xie Daoyun became wary.

Sun En: "???"

I've been so damn sincere, and you still doubt me?

This young girl seemed so delicate before, yet she has so many schemes.

"Do you want to help your man?" Sun En said through clenched teeth.

"Brother Zu isn't my man," Xie Daoyun said, blushing. Her gaze drifted to Zu An, who was struggling in a fierce battle not far away, her eyes filled with worry.

"I didn't even mention Zu An's name," Sun En huffed. This girl's thoughts were utterly transparent. None of the women around that pretty boy were easy to deal with; his "fish pond" was full of sharks. If this girl didn't have some capital, she probably wouldn't even have bone fragments left. "If you don't want it, then forget it."

"I want it, I want it!" Xie Daoyun said, urgently.

Sun En: "..."

All his sincere, heartfelt advice was less effective than just bringing up that pretty boy.

What a messed-up world.

However, he knew he was running out of time and dared not hesitate. He quickly transmitted a set of incantations to her, then hurriedly warned, "Your cultivation is too low right now to unleash the talisman's full power. Cultivate diligently, and in the future..."

His voice grew softer and softer towards the end, finally fading away.

The three talismans quietly floated before Xie Daoyun.

Yun Jianyue, who was currently channeling vital energy to her, was startled and quickly asked what was happening.

Xie Daoyun briefly explained what had just happened. Yun Jianyue, however, remained uneasy. "Be careful. That guy isn't a good person. He might try to possess you."

Xie Daoyun gently shook her head. "A dying man's words are good words. I could feel his goodwill just now. Don't worry, Sister Yun."

Not far away, Qiu Honglei's ears perked up instantly. "You called her sister? Doesn't that make me a whole generation shorter?"

Not just her, even Chu Chuyan and Pei Mianman had peculiar expressions. They were of the same generation as Qiu Honglei, so now they suddenly had a younger sister who was also an elder?

This woman doesn't seem as innocent as she appears on the outside.

Yun Jianyue then carefully examined the three talismans, confirming there was no soul presence on them. Only then did she breathe a sigh of relief. "Sect Master Sun is indeed a remarkable figure. I had indeed judged a gentleman by the heart of a villain."

"That's because you care about me, Sister," Xie Daoyun expressed her gratitude.

Yun Jianyue suddenly noticed the expressions of the others and couldn't help but lightly cough. "Don't call me 'sister' anymore. That was just a temporary measure to deceive Sun En on our journey."

Generations mustn't be confused. She couldn't possibly let her own disciple suffer such a disadvantage.

Xie Daoyun murmured, "Oh," and then suddenly remembered something. "Oh dear, I need to help Brother Zu!"

With that, she clasped her hands together, held two fingers upright before her eyes, and began to chant. A streak of blue light suddenly appeared around the Supreme Divine Firmament Talisman.

Immediately afterward, a bolt of lightning struck directly towards the Ghost King.