Chapter 1843: The Heart of the Dao Shattered

**Fantasy Novel**

Facing Zhao Hao's attack, Chu Chuyan, Pei Mianman, and Qiu Honglei reacted incredibly quickly.

A lotus of ice and snow silently bloomed, enveloping Chu Chuyan in an ice storm.

Pei Mianman, on the other hand, was engulfed in black flames, within which the faint phantom of a Manjusaka could be seen.

As for Qiu Honglei, a lantern in front of her glowed intensely, bathing her entire body in holy light—a "Holy Light Guardian," the strongest single-target defense skill, even more potent than the Wall of Sighs.

Even Xie Daoyun hastily activated the "High Empyrean Divine Talisman" to summon heavenly thunder to attack Zhao Hao.

Unfortunately, their speed could not match that of an Earth Immortal. Zhao Hao merely clenched his hand, causing the surrounding space to collapse, and their spells were interrupted mid-formation before they could fully materialize.

The four women suffered a backlash from their spells, each spitting out a mouthful of blood. They could only feel space collapsing around them from all directions, leaving them no way to escape, and despair flashed in their hearts.

Just then, a furious roar suddenly rang out: "Your wife is amazing!"

Zhao Hao's body stiffened, and he whirled around to glare at Zu An. "What did you say?"

Zu An smiled faintly. "How could Your Majesty, with your cultivation, not have heard me clearly?"

Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue had also heard it, initially thinking they misheard, but seeing the current situation, it seemed they hadn't, and both were utterly bewildered.

Chu Chuyan and the others were also filled with questions. What was happening? Zu An having a relationship with the Emperor's women was simply unbelievable.

"I'll kill you!" Zhao Hao roared, no longer caring about Chu Chuyan and the others. He lunged at Zu An like a tiger descending a mountain.

Rage value from Zhao Hao: 444444444...

Seeing the situation was not right, Zu An turned and ran.

The two, one pursuing the other, quickly disappeared into the distance.

Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue's expressions changed. They hastily instructed the women, "Stay here, don't move!"

With that, they quickly chased after them to help.

Although Chu Chuyan and the others were anxious, they knew that their cultivation was far below Zhao Hao's level. Joining the fight now would only be suicidal and hinder Zu An.

They could only remain to collect the Libationer's remains and bring them back to his hometown for a proper burial upon leaving the secret realm.

Midway, Qiu Honglei couldn't help but ask curiously, "What did Ah Zu mean by that just now? Could he be having an affair with the Empress or one of the concubines?"

"Miss Xie, you've been in the capital for a long time. Have you heard anything?"

Xie Daoyun's face flushed slightly, and her eyes held a hint of confusion. "I haven't heard any rumors about him and the Empress, but there were once some rumors about him and the Crown Princess, though they were quickly clarified."

Chu Chuyan couldn't help but say, "Ah Zu probably said that on purpose to save us."

Pei Mianman's expression was strange. "But the Emperor's rage didn't seem fake, and you all know Ah Zu's flirtatious nature."

The three women exchanged glances and sighed in unison.

Xie Daoyun weakly raised her hand. "Shouldn't we be worried about Big Brother Zu's safety right now?"

The three women fell silent. After a long moment, Chu Chuyan spoke, "Worrying now is useless. We can only trust that Ah Zu and our masters will overcome this challenge. If something truly happens..."

She paused, then said with determination, "At worst, I'll just accompany him."

Xie Daoyun, standing by, widened her eyes. Seeing the other two women's calm expressions, as if they found nothing surprising about this, it seemed they shared similar thoughts.

She couldn't help but admire them, thinking that despite their carefree and playful demeanor on the surface, their feelings ran so deep.

Oh dear, future challenges will be immense, how vexing.

At this moment, Qiu Honglei looked at her again. "Worrying about other things is useless. Tell us, what kind of person is the Empress? Is she pretty?"

Seeing the three women's gossiping demeanor, Xie Daoyun's breath hitched. It was truly difficult to reconcile their current appearance with their earlier determined expressions. Instinctively, she replied,

"To be an Empress who serves as a model for the world, she is naturally of outstanding beauty. However, the Empress has lived a reclusive life these past years, rarely appearing in public. I've heard that His Majesty has been in prolonged seclusion for cultivation, barely setting foot in the imperial harem..."

The other women's expressions shifted slightly. "Elaborate! Especially about the situation in the imperial harem."

Xie Daoyun: "..."

Meanwhile, Zu An sped away like the wind. One moment he was teleporting with the aid of the wind, the next he was riding his Wind-Fire Wheels, covering thousands of miles in no time.

Just as he saw Zhao Hao attacking the women, in desperation, he activated his "Verbal Provocation" skill. This skill could draw the opponent's hatred, making them pursue him relentlessly for a seemingly reasonable cause.

As the situation was critical, he worried one skill might not be effective, so he also used "Golden Snake King's Gaze."

Legend had it that in a certain plane, the moment the Golden Snake King laid eyes on your wife, you would be cuckolded.

Those affected by this eye technique would have visions of the opponent and their wife engaged in intimate acts. Fearing it still wasn't enough, Zu An verbally threw out that explosive provocation as well.

With this three-pronged approach, Zhao Hao's mindset indeed exploded. His mind was flooded with images of his Empress and concubines being wantonly violated by Zu An.

Initially, he had sensed something amiss, that his emotions seemed a little off, but then he remembered Zu An's reputation for cunning ways with women and immediately believed it, thus furiously giving chase in a fit of rage.

"You bastard, I'll tear you to pieces, dismember you a thousand times over!"

Rage value from Zhao Hao: 999999999...

Zu An suddenly stopped, put away his Sun-Shooting Bow, and with a casual gesture, the Tai'a Sword flew back into his hand from the horizon.

Zhao Hao also spread his hand, and the Emperor's Seal shimmered faintly above his palm. At this point, his hatred for Zu An had reached its peak. Naturally, he no longer cared about the other women and wanted to retrieve his divine artifact to eliminate this bastard first.

"Why aren't you running anymore?" Zhao Hao gnashed his teeth.

Zu An's gaze briefly swept downwards. At this moment, they were both mid-air, with a vast mountain range below them.

"I believe this place is perfect for settling our grievances. Naturally, there's no need to run anymore."

Zhao Hao laughed in extreme rage. "I admit, you do have many trump cards, but do you think you can handle me alone? Who gave you such courage?"

Just now, Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen had been directly holding him back. This fellow, hiding in the shadows and firing sneak attacks, was indeed somewhat troublesome.

But now that he had come here alone, having long shaken off those two women, how could he possibly be his match in a one-on-one fight?

"What else in this world do you think I can't achieve?" Zu An said calmly, a hint of mockery playing on his lips.

Zhao Hao recalled Zu An's words from moments ago, and images of his Empress being wantonly disgraced by Zu An involuntarily flashed through his mind. Even with his strong will, his face couldn't help but tremble slightly.

"When exactly did you get involved with the Empress?"

He knew the other party said this intentionally to shake his resolve and affect his combat state.

He had to admit, it was indeed very effective.

Therefore, he planned to first find flaws in the opponent's words, deny the matter, and naturally regain his peak mindset.

This guy was too composed; his own mindset was currently off, and fighting him now would not be wise.

Although he was quite confident he could eliminate the opponent, he didn't want to give him even the slightest chance.

"Oh, does Your Majesty enjoy hearing the details of your women's intimacy with me? I truly didn't expect you to have such a peculiar habit." Zu An sneered.

Zhao Hao's face twitched. "You're only good at mouthing off. The Empress comes from a prestigious family and is the mother of the nation; how could she possibly take a liking to a small-time hooligan like you!"

Rage value from Zhao Hao: 444444444...

Zu An smiled. "The Empress, however, quite enjoys my verbal prowess."

Zhao Hao had indeed always stood like a great mountain in his path, his biggest rival in his heart.

Therefore, he had to try any method to weaken his opponent, even if it was somewhat contemptible.

Zhao Hao: "???"

More unspeakable images appeared in his mind.

Rage value from Zhao Hao: 666666666...

At this point, Zu An continued, "For all these years, Your Majesty has been solely focused on immortality, only knowing how to seclude himself for cultivation, neglecting the Empress for countless years. The Empress is a mature woman; she's been guarding an empty chamber for so long, and her injuries could even be healed by me. So, she wishes to cling to me every day; I can't even push her away..."

Hearing how specifically Zu An knew about the Empress's physical condition, Zhao Hao realized this was no casual fabrication. He had originally intended to expose the lie and regain his composure, but instead, it seemed to confirm the relationship between the Empress and Zu An, causing his mental state to utterly collapse.

His eyes blazing red, he stared fixedly at Zu An. "You bastard, I will make you regret ever being born! Weren't those women just now yours? I will brutally humiliate them right before your eyes, and make you realize the mistake you have made."

With that, he seemed about to turn back to find Chu Chuyan and the others.

At that moment, another sentence rang in his ears: "Oh, I forgot to tell you, besides the Empress, there's also the Crown Princess. Although she is nominally your daughter-in-law, she was actually chosen by you long ago to be the wife of your reincarnated body, wasn't she? And Consort Bai..."

Zu An had to use every possible means to keep Zhao Hao there. The safety of the women was at stake, and he no longer cared about being contemptible or not.

As expected, Zhao Hao's mind exploded with a resounding boom. He finally understood how his other soul clone had died. Thinking of Zu An's relationship with Bi Linglong, his vision turned blood red. "You son of a bitch, I'll tear you to pieces!"

His Dao Heart was utterly shattered!

Rage value from Zhao Hao: 102410241024...