Chapter 1922: One Good Turn Deserves Another

Hearing his words and noting his attire, Zu An's face darkened. "So you were the one who went to the Sky Prison before?"

The black-robed man paused slightly, then chuckled, "So that's what you're here for. Yes, I did indeed visit the Sky Prison earlier. I must say, having powerful backing is truly exhilarating. Previously, I never had the chance to absorb the cultivation of two dukes. It was a genuine delicacy! I had been stagnant in the Qi Spirit realm for years, but now, with the help of those two dukes' cultivation, I've touched the threshold of the Soul Wisdom realm. I'll soon advance to Grandmaster, haha! I really should thank them both."

He then turned his greedy gaze towards Zu An. "I never imagined fate would be so kind to me, sending you here as well. With your cultivation, I won't just stabilize in the Soul Wisdom realm; I might even ascend to the higher Celestial Impulse realm..."

Just then, his eyes narrowed as he realized he had lost sight of his opponent. This shock was significant. He quickly dodged to the side, simultaneously activating his demonic cultivation to envelop his surroundings. This way, no matter how fast his opponent was, as long as they touched his body, their entire cultivation would be drained.

Hmph, that pretty boy seems to practice a similar art, but how could it compare to the secret manual he obtained? Besides, his near-Grandmaster cultivation would utterly crush the opponent. When the two clashed, he would naturally hold all the advantages.

"So much chatter!" Just then, a hand clamped around his neck.

"How is he so fast?" The black-robed man was startled but not flustered. He thought, 'Dare to touch my body? You won't even have a chance to exert force.' He fully activated his demonic cultivation, attempting to drain his opponent's cultivation through his neck.

"Huh, why isn't it draining?" The black-robed man was suddenly dumbfounded, a hint of panic finally creeping into his heart. Immediately, he felt his entire cultivation suddenly boil. His vital energy seemed to cheer as it continuously surged towards his throat, being absorbed by that large hand.

"How is this possible!" The black-robed man's eyes nearly popped out. His divine art was actually inferior to his opponent's. 'How old is this pretty boy? Even if he'd been cultivating since the womb, he couldn't possibly surpass me!'

Furthermore, he had obtained this demonic art from a ruined temple through countless perils years ago. It belonged to an ancient and powerful sect, long lost to the river of time. This demonic art was the very foundation of their sect, and with it, they truly struck fear into the hearts of cultivators across the land. According to the inscriptions, this demonic art was derived from a fragment of an unspeakable ancient legendary technique, and its grade was exceptionally high. It could even counteract other similar cultivation-draining methods. 'Why was it counteracted today? Surely this pretty boy isn't cultivating that ancient legendary technique, is he?'

However, he soon lost the energy to think, as his entire cultivation was drained in the blink of an eye, leaving him completely powerless. "So fast... much faster than me..." The black-robed man's face was pale, finally understanding that the opponent's technique was indeed of a higher grade than his.

Zu An casually tossed him to the ground, coldly watching the black-robed man, who lay like a dead dog. "It's only fair you taste the pain you inflicted on others today," he said grimly.

The black-robed man's face contorted in extreme pain. What could be more agonizing than having one's entire cultivation drained? It was taking someone else's cultivation one moment, dreaming of a wonderful future, only to be plunged from the clouds into the mud the next.

But he immediately realized that wasn't the worst of it, as that pretty boy's foot came down directly on his knees.

"Crack!"

Almost instantly, both his legs were successively crushed by the opponent's foot, every bone shattering into fragments. He was in so much pain he wanted to writhe, but alas, he had no strength left and could only curl up like a boiled shrimp. Not to mention he was now crippled; even if his cultivation had remained, such injuries would likely be irreparable. He shrieked repeatedly, but his body was too weak, and the severe injuries finally became unbearable. He agonizingly died from the pain.

A generation's notorious fiend thus met his bitter end on the spot.

All of this happened in a flash. One moment, Prince Dai was listening to Mr. Xu's grand boasts, feeling secure, and the next, he saw him beaten into a lifeless heap. The stark contrast made his jaw drop so wide it almost hit the floor.

"What the hell? Why are all these people so useless? If they can't do it, they should just say so! I could have run earlier! But no, they had to brag!" Prince Dai was almost in tears. He quickly ordered his personal guards and the captain of the guards beside him, "Quick, stop him!" Having said that, he turned and ran into the house. He no longer expected his useless, wine-swilling subordinates to kill the one named Zu. They just needed to hold him off for a moment.

Zu An walked forward. The guards swallowed hard, involuntarily backing away. They had witnessed the scene firsthand. Prince Dai might not have known how strong his guest cultivators and Mr. Xu were, but these guards had interacted with them often and knew they were far superior to themselves. Even with special formation bonuses, the guards would be evenly matched at best in a real fight, and the opponent would still have the advantage. Facing Zu An now, wasn't it just suicide?

But military orders were absolute. If these personal guards dared to abandon Prince Dai and flee now, the imperial court would hold them accountable later, resulting not only in their certain deaths but also terrible fates for their families. Everyone looked at the guard captain, waiting for him to speak. They would fight if they had to, at least leaving some severance for their families.

At this moment, the guard captain's expression shifted several times. Watching Zu An approach, he suddenly shouted, "Your Excellency's cultivation is divine, and you even practice eye techniques! A mere glare has gravely wounded me! Oh, I'm fainting, I'm fainting!" Having said that, he naturally collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

Zu An: "???"

After witnessing those terrifying entities in the great tomb, he had indeed considered integrating swordsmanship into eye techniques, allowing him to injure people without actually using a sword. But he hadn't succeeded in his research yet, so why did this person collapse?

The other guards' eyes widened. "This is possible?!" One by one, their eyes darted around, then they all groaned "Oh no" and "fainted" onto the ground. Before passing out, they cried, "What powerful eye techniques! I've been hit!"

"I've been hit too!" Watching the guard squad, who moments ago were full of vigor, now sprawled on the ground, Zu An was utterly speechless. Indeed, a master gets the subordinates they deserve.

He took a step forward, directly appearing inside the house Prince Dai had fled into. He saw Prince Dai standing in a teleportation array, enveloped in a blue light, indicating the array was active. Seeing Zu An enter, Prince Dai smugly made a waving gesture, finally free of this scourge.

Zu An reached out, but his hand met empty air. He felt a spatial force repelling him. Almost simultaneously, the blue light flashed, and Prince Dai vanished.

Zu An frowned. Although he was quite knowledgeable about formations, his understanding of spatial laws was indeed lacking. He closed his eyes, silently sensing for a moment, then opened them and looked in a certain direction. Prince Dai must have gone in that direction. Such teleportation arrays had long been lost, were extremely precious, and consumed an exorbitant amount of primal stones. He wondered which secret realm Prince Dai had managed to unearth this from, keeping it here as a life-saving measure. However, such small arrays were destined not to teleport too far.

But now, there was an even simpler way...

He walked directly to the group of guards. Those who had been secretly peeking open their eyes to check the situation quickly squeezed them shut, though their trembling eyelashes showed they were terrified to the extreme.

"Stop playing dead. Where does Prince Dai's teleportation array lead?" Zu An kicked the guard captain.

The guard captain dared not pretend to be asleep any longer. He quickly opened his eyes, hesitating slightly. He heard the other calmly say, "Setting up this teleportation array requires considerable manpower and resources. As his personal guard captain, you can't possibly be unaware. You have only one chance to answer. Don't test my patience."

The guard captain quickly replied, "The Meng family. Prince Dai's consort set it up, specifically placing the destination near the Meng family. As for the exact location, I truly don't know."

Zu An nodded, said nothing, bent his knees slightly, and shot into the sky, quickly disappearing into the horizon.

The guard captain's mouth hung wide open. "My goodness, what cultivation level is this guy?"

"He can fly! At least a Master, right?" The other guards also woke up one after another.

"Master? So many experts were slaughtered at the mansion just now. That Mr. Xu was at least peak Master. I'd say he's a Grandmaster, minimum."

"A Grandmaster... His Highness has truly stirred up a huge problem this time," the guard captain murmured to himself.

Another guard couldn't help but say, "Captain, you just seemed to have betrayed His Highness?"

"Did I?" The guard captain's face changed. "Did any of you actually help His Highness buy time just now? Isn't that also betraying him? Hmph, we're all in the same boat. No one mentioned anything that happened just now, understood?"

"Understood. We were all knocked out by that scoundrel, so we don't know what happened." The remaining guards quickly agreed, simultaneously glancing nervously at the sky, fearing that the word "scoundrel" might draw that bane back.

Meanwhile, as Zu An flew through the sky, faint formations began to appear in the surrounding air, and auras from all directions began to awaken, with many divine senses sweeping towards him. Zu An mused that the capital indeed had no-fly zones. Fortunately, the Meng family wasn't too far from Prince Dai's mansion, so he quickly landed in the Meng family courtyard. The formations in the sky then gradually began to fade. He wondered if these formations were the work of Yan Xiangu. 'Truly a talented individual.'

Meanwhile, in the Meng family's study, Meng Yi was sipping tea, listening intently to a beautiful woman speaking across from him. The woman was young, yet her brow carried an inherent sense of authority and power. Even Master Meng, who wielded great influence in the imperial court, nodded and listened attentively in her presence. Her cheeks, however, were as vibrant as peach blossoms, her skin seemingly so moist it might seep water, and the hand holding the teacup was like sculpted white jade. When she spoke, her voice was clear and melodious, yet carried hints of decisiveness and ruthlessness.

"Father, the main reason our previous plan wasn't effective was that I overlooked one thing!"