Chapter 1828: Sisters

It was no wonder Zu An was shocked. He had considered many possibilities, but they were all confined to the realm of living beings. He never imagined her true form would be a talisman.

But aren't talismans inanimate objects?

As if sensing his confusion, Jing Teng explained while tidying her clothes, "I can't recall how long this great tomb has existed. At that time, the entire tomb relied on the grand formation here to seal all the monsters, and this talisman was the core of the formation."

"Since this talisman could be the eye of the formation, suppressing so many terrifying entities, it was inherently extraordinarily miraculous."

"After countless ages like this, it gradually developed consciousness, and then I was born."

Zu An suddenly understood. No wonder she knew so much about this great tomb but was unclear about who created it and events from much earlier times.

"So, your story about being an enlightened vine was also false?"

Jing Teng looked a little apologetic. "I didn't intentionally deceive you. Initially, I truly believed I was a vine enlightened by Immortal Monarch Baopu. It wasn't until I came to this great tomb that some of my memories gradually awakened."

"Although I had developed consciousness back then, I remained within this great tomb. It wasn't until one time when that old man, Immortal Monarch Baopu, trespassed into the tomb and accidentally ventured deep inside, encountering danger. I saved him, and that's how we became friends despite our age difference."

Zu An's expression was strange. It was hard to say who was older, her or Immortal Monarch Baopu.

The women around him certainly spanned a wide range of ages. There were teenage girls, young women in their twenties or thirties, and...

Hmm, he wondered how old Sister Yun and Sister Yan actually were.

He had thought Mi Li was the oldest, but now it seemed Jing Teng could rival her?

Other girls were eighteen years old, but this old lady was eighty-eight thousand years old?

Why did eighty-eight thousand years not feel out of place to him, but eighty years would feel very strange?

At this point, Jing Teng continued, "I learned a lot about the human world from Immortal Monarch Baopu and developed a longing for it. Sometimes I would secretly go out to play for a while, and to avoid trouble, I would falsely claim to be a vine enlightened by the Immortal Monarch."

"Everything was fine originally, until something happened later..."

Just then, a sneer came from behind. "I wondered what you two were doing. So, this pair of shameless scoundrels was doing something illicit here!"

Zu An was startled. He quickly shielded Jing Teng behind him and nervously gazed at the entrance.

At that moment, a cloud of black mist slowly seeped out, with faint outlines of skulls visible within. Who else could it be but the Ghost King?

Zu An's expression turned grim. The two of them had just been in an intimate moment, completely forgetting about the great enemy who was pursuing them.

He would definitely protect Jing Teng!

Huh? A thought suddenly struck him. Why wasn't the other party affected by this grand formation?

Logically, this grand formation was meant to seal the monsters of the entire great tomb. The Ghost King should have been directly suppressed upon arriving here.

He himself had almost been crushed to pieces when he first came here. Although the Ghost King was stronger than him, it wasn't ridiculously so. Moreover, with its demonic attributes, it should be even less able to withstand this pressure. Why did it seem completely unaffected?

"Where is the Pure Simplicity Scripture?" The Ghost King looked directly at Jing Teng.

"I gave it to Brother Zu," Jing Teng said directly, without concealment.

The Ghost King was instantly enraged. "How could you just give such a precious item to him?"

The Ghost King's rage soared to 444,444,444...

"He's my man. If not him, then who?" Jing Teng had already tidied her clothes, wrapped her arm around Zu An's, and looked at the Ghost King provocatively.

The black mist surrounding the Ghost King churned wildly, clearly agitated to a significant degree.

"Fine. Since I now know the whereabouts of the Pure Simplicity Scripture, I'll just force it out of him."

Just then, the entire space shook again, and continuous roars echoed from afar, as if they were about to break free at any moment, causing a strong sense of dread.

Even the Ghost King showed some apprehension and quickly said, "Brat, hand over the item quickly. This King can spare you. And I can let those women upstairs go too."

Zu An said coldly, "I'm not accustomed to leaving my fate in others' hands."

"Hmph, your knowledge is limited, and this King won't stoop to your level," the Ghost King snorted coldly. "You must have seen those terrifying entities on your way here. Now, the seal on this great tomb is about to collapse. If we waste time and allow those entities to break free, even if this King doesn't trouble you, you will surely die."

Zu An's expression changed. He knew the Ghost King wasn't lying. If any one of those monsters got out, let alone them, even the Ghost King might not survive.

But handing over the Pure Simplicity Scripture was absolutely out of the question.

Just as he was in a dilemma, Jing Teng suddenly sighed and looked at the Ghost King. "Why exactly do you want the Pure Simplicity Scripture?"

"Naturally, it's for the path to immortality. Only by becoming an immortal can one transcend," the Ghost King said arrogantly, growing a little impatient after speaking. "Don't waste any more time. At most, I'll let you keep a copy. This is this King's biggest concession."

The continuous roars from afar and the awakening of various terrifying auras. He sensed all this, knowing he could no longer delay.

"Can you truly transcend after becoming an immortal?" Jing Teng smiled mockingly. "Do you know why I lured you here?"

The black mist around the Ghost King trembled. "You intend to use this demon-suppressing formation against me? However, you'll likely be disappointed. For some reason, this King doesn't seem to fear this thing."

Jing Teng looked at him with a strange expression. "Have you still not remembered, even after coming here?"

"This King did indeed lose some memories when I escaped this great tomb back then, but don't think you can use that to disturb my Dao heart," the Ghost King sneered repeatedly.

Jing Teng's expression was a little speechless. She pointed directly at the distant talisman. "Look at that."

"Such child's tricks against me..." The Ghost King said, yet couldn't resist glancing in that direction. Immediately, his voice trailed off, and the black mist forming his entire body began to tremble violently.

Seeing him in a daze, Zu An thought it was a rare opportunity. Just as he was about to seize the chance to attack, he was held back by Jing Teng.

Zu An looked at her in confusion, his expression puzzled.

"No, no, how could this be..." The Ghost King trembled violently all over. Although he had no physical form, the black mist seemed to condense into hands clutching his head.

"Don't forget your mission." Jing Teng sighed. With a fingertip, she pointed remotely at the talisman at the center of the grand formation. The talisman glowed with a yellow light, as if coming alive.

A beam of light shone down from it onto the Ghost King. He immediately let out a pained roar.

Zu An was inwardly pleased, thinking it would be best if this grand formation could deal with him, and he wouldn't have to fight to the death. However, Jing Teng's recent reaction had been somewhat strange.

Under the illumination of the light, the black mist around the Ghost King rapidly evaporated and shrank, while the black skulls within it completely fragmented and disappeared.

Finally, the Ghost King's pervasive black mist grew less and less, becoming increasingly thin, until it condensed into a human-sized form.

A thought stirred in Zu An's mind. Is this the Ghost King's true form?

He wondered what kind of monster it was.

The mist around him grew fainter and fainter, eventually disappearing completely, transforming into a black robe on its body.

The other party's appearance became visible. Zu An's eyes nearly popped out of his head.

Even if the Ghost King's true form had been one of those disgusting monsters seen on the upper levels, or anything else for that matter, he wouldn't have been surprised in the slightest.

But she was a woman, and a very beautiful one at that.

That in itself wasn't so surprising; there were many beautiful women in the world, and Zu An was worldly. His astonishment stemmed from the fact that the person looked exactly like Jing Teng!

No, there were still differences upon closer inspection. Jing Teng wore a white dress, while she wore a black one.

Moreover, the expressions between their brows were also different. Jing Teng had a cool, aloof demeanor, while the other woman was ruthless and cunning.

Even without knowing either of them, one would instinctively feel closer to Jing Teng.

"What on earth is going on?" Countless questions flooded Zu An's mind at that moment.

Jing Teng sighed, then explained, "Didn't I just say, this talisman was inherently miraculous? During the long sealing period, it gradually developed consciousness, which is me. When I was first born, I was full of curiosity about everything outside, so I often secretly went out to play in the outside world."

"Of course, I was also very clear: I left half of my power to continue maintaining the operation of this grand formation, to prevent any problems with this great tomb."

"But what I didn't expect was that after I left, some terrifying entities in the great tomb found an opportunity and tried to corrupt this talisman with their evil power."

"Although they failed, their evil aura gave birth to another me, which is her, my sister."

As Jing Teng spoke, she looked at the Ghost King.

"Who's your sister!" The Ghost King's expression was grim at this moment. It was clear that many memories had just returned, and she was still struggling to accept them.

Let alone her, even Zu An was utterly bewildered. The Ghost King and Jing Teng were twin sisters?