Chapter 207: You Really Invest a Lot in Picking Up Girls

Upon hearing her words, Chu Chuyan's usually fair, jade-like cheeks flushed like an evening sky ablaze with sunset, her expression becoming extremely unnatural.

Zu An was speechless.

*You're a young girl, how can you say such things without shame!*

"When have I ever not been able to? I've always been perfectly capable, thank you very much!" Zu An retorted, feigning confidence.

"Heh."

Qiao Xueying responded with an eye-roll. Did he really think she didn't know his capabilities?

Chu Chuyan finally spoke up. "Divine Doctor Ji examined him and prescribed a 'seal-breaking pill' formula. Its main ingredient is the Formless Illusion Lotus."

"The Formless Illusion Lotus, rumored to have petals that can each advance one's cultivation by a minor realm?" Qiao Xueying finally reacted. "He gave all of that to you?"

As cultivators, they naturally knew that each major grade contained nine minor realms, and advancing even one minor realm was extremely difficult. In later stages of cultivation, it became as hard as scaling the heavens. Just one petal could equal years of effort for most people; if consumed in the later stages of cultivation, it could even be worth decades or centuries of hard work. What a truly heaven-defying item!

Chu Chuyan hummed in affirmation, a hint of softness entering her gaze as she looked at Zu An.

"Legend says the Formless Illusion Lotus has nine petals. How many did he give you?" Qiao Xueying pressed, though she had heard about the lotus from Zhang Han previously. At the time, however, she had been consumed by extreme grief over Shi Kun's betrayal and held captive by Zhang Han, leaving her utterly despondent and barely paying attention to her surroundings.

"All... he gave them to me," Chu Chuyan murmured, her voice trailing off as she recalled how he had fed her the Formless Illusion Lotus with his mouth.

Qiao Xueying gazed at Zu An with a complex expression. "You really spare no expense when you're pursuing a woman." She reflected that while they had both come to the underground palace, she had expended her most precious "Half-Life Affinity," losing half her lifespan, yet Chu Chuyan had received the Formless Illusion Lotus from Zu An, and her cultivation had advanced by almost an entire major realm.

Comparing oneself to others truly was infuriating!

*Why was she so unlucky...?*

Sensing her low spirits, Zu An couldn't help but snort. "Don't feel unfairly treated. What I sacrificed for you was no less than what I sacrificed for her." He thought of the tens of thousands of rage points, and critically, the negative buff of three consecutive empty draws. Otherwise, who knew what powerful skills or items those tens of thousands of rage points might have yielded?

Qiao Xueying was still feeling a bit resentful, wondering what Zu An could have possibly given up for her, when suddenly, a thought struck her. She remembered how, when her life hung by a thread, he had conjured a bottle of miraculous instant-recovery medicine out of thin air. Although he had been vague about it, she knew full well that this world operated on the principle of equivalent exchange. To obtain such a miraculous medicine, he must have paid an immense price. Though she couldn't recall all the details of what had happened before, she still remembered facing an incredibly terrifying enemy, and how this man, covered in blood, had repeatedly shielded and protected her. At this thought, her gaze towards Zu An softened as well.

However, her heart sank when she saw Chu Chuyan beside him. What a pity; they were the true couple. Fate was truly cruel. If only that night, they had truly...

Recalling the embarrassing incident of that night, Qiao Xueying suddenly snapped back to reality. "Wait, since Miss Chu ate all the Formless Illusion Lotuses, how did you recover?" This guy... he couldn't perform when he was with her, but he could with Miss Chu?

"Later, in the Sealed World, I had another wondrous encounter, and by chance, the issue was resolved," Zu An replied vaguely. "Alright, alright, you're a young lady. Aren't you ashamed of asking about such things all the time?"

Qiao Xueying snorted. She was indeed too embarrassed to press further, but a doubt lingered in her mind: she had also been in the Sealed World, so why hadn't she known about his wondrous encounter?

Although Chu Chuyan and he were husband and wife, their relationship was truly awkward. Furthermore, on this particular matter, she was the "injured party," so how could she bring herself to ask?

The three of them, each lost in their own thoughts, continued their ascent. Chu Chuyan had initially been extremely vigilant, worried that zombie warriors might suddenly appear, but for some reason, the zombie warriors they encountered all scuttled away at their sight.

"Do they know they're no match for me, so they're hiding in advance?" Chu Chuyan wondered, a bit puzzled. But that couldn't be right; these creatures shouldn't possess such high intelligence.

Just then, Zu An suddenly asked, "Xue'er, what are your plans for the future?"

Qiao Xueying shook her head, looking lost. "I don't know."

"Since you've realized Shi Kun's true nature, why not return to the Chu clan?" Chu Chuyan suggested. "You're always welcome with us."

Zu An immediately chimed in, "Exactly, exactly! You're my betrothed concubine-maid. After this trip to the underground palace, we're all familiar with each other, so it'll be perfect for you to warm my bed every day from now on."

Qiao Xueying was speechless.

Chu Chuyan was speechless.

Rage value +250 from Qiao Xueying!

Rage value +250 from Chu Chuyan!

*Had this guy's brain been kicked by a donkey?*

Qiao Xueying directly ignored him and turned to Chu Chuyan. "Thank you, Miss Chu, I appreciate your kindness. But I've broken ties with the Shi clan, and there are still many matters to deal with on that end."

"Do you need our help?" Chu Chuyan asked. She knew that large clans often employed various means to control their subordinates, the most common being the use of relatives as hostages.

Qiao Xueying shook her head. "Thank you for your kind offer, Miss Chu, but I believe I can handle it myself."

Chu Chuyan let out a long sigh. "Why have we grown so distant from each other?"

Qiao Xueying recalled the years when they had cracked melon seeds together and read storybooks like sisters. For a moment, she was overwhelmed with emotion. Though a thousand words lay in her heart, they ultimately condensed into just three: "I'm sorry!"

"In life, many things are beyond our control," Chu Chuyan replied softly. "I've never blamed you."

The two women soon fell silent.

Zu An didn't quite understand what had gone wrong in their relationship; he always felt it was all rather dramatic. *Wouldn't it be better if everyone just lived happily together? Any misunderstandings could just be resolved by...* cough *...sharing a big bed, right?* Of course, considering Chu Chuyan's current combat power, he didn't dare voice these thoughts for the sake of his own safety.

Just then, the ground suddenly shook violently, and dirt and stones began raining down from above. A similar tremor had occurred once before, when the 200,000 undead army burst forth, but this time, the shaking was far more intense. The zombie warriors who had been wandering around now showed looks of terror, fleeing haphazardly like headless flies.

"It's collapsing! We need to get out of here quickly," Chu Chuyan exclaimed, her beautiful face paling slightly. She could feel the elemental energy in the area growing incredibly chaotic, a clear sign of impending collapse.

Zu An understood that the Soul-Suppressing Great Seal had likely shattered. He had also taken the Formless Illusion Lotus and the Tai'a Sword, which were the core of the array here. With Mi Li, Zhang Han, and the 200,000 undead army all gone, the millennia-long balance of the place had been completely disrupted, leading to its collapse.

"What a waste!" Zu An lamented, looking back reluctantly as he ran. He had planned to return here after taking Qiao Xueying for treatment. After all, this was the mausoleum where the Empress of Great Qin was buried, and who knew how abundant the funerary objects within were? The earlier activation of his "Rich Woman's Joy Sphere" was proof enough. This underground palace held at least ten million taels of wealth, not to mention potentially other even more valuable treasures. Just the weapons and armor alone were undoubtedly of a higher grade than those sold by the Chu clan – and the Chu clan's armaments were already renowned far and wide. In his eyes, since these were all Mi Li's funerary objects, they naturally all belonged to him. Such a massive dowry, just gone! What a tremendous loss!

*Oh well, never mind. He had unsealed his "little brother," obtained the Tai'a Sword, and the upper section of the Hongmeng Primordial Scripture. The trip had certainly been worthwhile. Besides, compared to all the wealth in the entire underground palace, Mi Li herself was probably more valuable. That woman was beautiful and a treasure trove in every sense...* As soon as that thought crossed his mind, Zu An felt a pang of guilt. He then noticed that the Tai'a Sword showed no reaction, and he breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed she was truly in slumber. *He wondered if she could truly read his thoughts...*

Zu An couldn't help but admire himself; with falling rocks collapsing all around him, he still had the luxury of thinking so many random thoughts.

Chu Chuyan protected both of them throughout the journey. After what felt like an eternity, their eyes finally brightened; the three of them had emerged from the underground palace entrance. Barely seconds after they cleared the entrance, dull roars echoed from behind them as the entire underground palace completely collapsed. Even the two magnificent gates at its entrance couldn't withstand the immense pressure, crushed entirely by the collapsing mountain. Dust billowed into the sky, forming a small mushroom cloud.

The once solid ground now undulated violently like a turbulent sea, making it impossible for Zu An to stand steady. He also vaguely perceived an invisible shockwave spreading outwards.

"Watch out!" Chu Chuyan exclaimed, coming over to support Zu An. Tapping her toes lightly, she swiftly dashed towards the distant forest. Her cultivation was now close to the Seventh Grade, making her much faster than Zu An.

As he inhaled the faint, elegant fragrance emanating from the beauty beside him, he could even feel her remarkably soft body due to their close proximity. Being carried by his wife, while simultaneously holding another beautiful girl in his arms—Zu An couldn't help but feel a surge of self-admiration. *How many men in this world could be as awesome as him? Who else, indeed!*

Perhaps sensing his deliberate attempts to rub against her, Chu Chuyan immediately tossed him aside as soon as they reached the safety of the forest edge, her face flushed with a mixture of annoyance and light anger.

Zu An looked bewildered. *I just brushed against you, and you react like this? Yet just now, it clearly went in too.*

However, his attention was quickly drawn to the billowing dust in the distance. Witnessing the aftermath of the mountain's complete collapse, he couldn't help but marvel at how the might of heaven and earth was truly beyond human reach.

Chu Chuyan suddenly tilted her head, listening intently for a moment before quickly saying, "Someone's coming, and quite a few of them."

"Many people?" Zu An instinctively looked for a place to hide. "Let's find somewhere to conceal ourselves and observe the situation first."

"Hide?" Chu Chuyan's tone held a hint of cold arrogance. "Now that I've fully recovered, why should we hide?"