Chapter 2235: Since You're Here, Don't Leave

Yun Yuqing’s pretty face flushed. She, of course, knew what the other person was asking. Only she and her husband knew about her relationship with Zu An, and her throwing herself into Zu An’s arms in front of everyone just now was indeed very puzzling.

She took a deep breath and quickly said, “I’ll explain the full story to everyone later. For now, please come over here and help Brother Zu fight alongside him.”

Hearing her words, Prince Yi and the others exchanged bewildered glances, their minds practically short-circuiting.

What was going on? How could the Wu King’s Consort be siding with an outsider?

Her husband was lying on the ground like a dead dog because of Zu An, yet instead of seeking revenge, she was helping her enemy?

Her calling him "Brother Zu" sounded remarkably intimate.

Even many low- and mid-ranking soldiers looked at Zu An with confusion, wondering what kind of magic this man possessed.

It was well known that the Wu King’s Consort had been highly visible recently, and her beauty had spread throughout the capital.

Many even secretly discussed whether she might become the future empress—after all, King Wu was powerful now, and also a descendant of the late emperor. From every perspective, he was more suitable to be emperor than that fool.

At this moment, Elder Rong shook his head slightly, “Miss, you have not only betrayed King Wu, but also all of us, your clansmen.”

Yun Yuqing’s expression changed. “What do you mean?”

Zu An was also somewhat puzzled. These were clearly subordinates sent by the demon race to assist Yun Yuqing, so why were they all betraying her now?

Could it be that the demon race had invested too much in King Wu, and were therefore unhappy with Yun Yuqing’s sudden defection?

But that didn’t make sense. King Wu was a cripple now, completely worthless. On the contrary, they could establish a connection with him through Yun Yuqing’s relationship.

Why would they stubbornly stick to a losing path?

Besides, he was also the Regent of the demon beast race, and the demon race was subordinate to them, so they should be on his side.

Unless…

At this point, Elder Rong shook his head slightly, clearly unwilling to explain further.

Instead, he ordered, “Form the array!”

Hearing his words, even the Four Grand Regents of King Wu’s manor instinctively took action.

Seeing this, King Wu, still on the ground, had tears in his eyes.

Others might not know the relationship between his wife and Zu An, but he, who had personally sent his wife to Zu An’s room back then, certainly did.

The key was the previous assassination attempt in the capital, where he discovered that Yun Yuqing seemed to have developed genuine feelings.

Zu An had become his inner demon, and he had been constantly thinking of ways to deal with him.

Later, he extensively recruited experts and finally found a "Spirit-Trapping Grand Array." When cast by a Grandmaster or even a Great Grandmaster, it could cut off the elemental energy of heaven and earth in an entire area, making it most suitable for a group to fight against a strong individual.

Originally, this grand array was supposed to be cast by the previous Elder Lin, but that guy had to show off when he appeared and was instantly crushed to death by Zu An, never getting a chance to activate it.

He didn’t expect this Elder Rong to also know it, and he had been secretly setting up the array from the shadows. Now that the array was complete, Zu An’s demise was at hand.

Yun Yuqing also noticed the elemental energy of heaven and earth disappearing around them, and she exclaimed in both shock and anger, “What are you doing? Stop!”

Elder Rong looked at her coldly. “Women are indeed prone to emotional decisions. You almost caused your entire race to be annihilated because of your willfulness. But it doesn’t matter now. The Spirit-Trapping Grand Array is complete, and there’s still time to correct all mistakes.”

The Four Grand Regents of King Wu’s manor were invigorated by this sight. Fortunately, they had chosen the right side at the right time.

Now with this Spirit-Trapping Grand Array, combined with Prince Yi and his well-armed, strong troops, no matter how high Zu An’s cultivation was, he was doomed to perish.

The only regret was that King Wu was now a cripple. The next step was to figure out who would be more suitable to pledge their allegiance to.

“What exactly do you mean? Weren’t you supposed to assist me?” Yun Yuqing’s mind was filled with confusion. These were her direct subordinates from the demon race, yet now they seemed like strangers.

Zu An placed a hand on her shoulder. “I’m afraid something has happened within the demon race. These fellows have been subverted by the extraterrestrial demons.”

Back in the Sealed Land, he had heard Princess Sauron of the demon race mention that their reinforcements hadn’t arrived on schedule. She had gone back to meet them then, and her situation was probably very dangerous now.

“Extraterrestrial demons!” Yun Yuqing’s heart sank. The thought of her race colluding with demons… that would be terrible.

At this moment, many soldiers in Prince Yi’s army became agitated upon hearing “demons.” They had never imagined that there would be demons among these people.

After all, to most ordinary people, demons were a more terrifying and significant enemy.

Prince Yi scoffed coldly, “Don’t listen to Zu An’s deceptive words. He’s cornered now and just deliberately slandering them. These people are King Wu’s trusted confidants; how could they be demons?”

His heart was cold. Zu An’s oppressive presence was too strong. As long as he could be eliminated, temporarily cooperating with demons was inconsequential.

Zhao Zhang and Zhao Quan shared the same thought. Since their father had been killed by Zu An, they knew they were already mortal enemies.

Zu An hadn’t touched their positions before because he was foolish. They wouldn’t believe his talk about maintaining overall stability and fighting extraterrestrial demons together.

Ultimately, he just hadn’t freed up his hands yet. If he finished dealing with external enemies, their entire family would certainly be purged.

Given this, they would strike first. That’s why they had unhesitatingly participated in the previous coup against the Liu family and the Empress Dowager, and now there was no turning back.

Jiang Boyang roared in fury, “I can’t believe you people, for your selfish desires, would go so far as to cooperate with extraterrestrial demons! It’s a true misfortune for our human race to have you in power!”

“Heh heh, how dare rebellious traitors speak ill of imperial affairs!” Prince Yi knew he couldn’t let these people continue, lest they demoralize the troops.

So he immediately ordered his subordinates to attack.

Although some soldiers were still hesitant, Prince Yi’s direct subordinates had already activated the siege crossbows and runic cannons.

At the same time, the experts in the army unleashed their long-range attack techniques. Colorful magical lights, whistling siege crossbow bolts, and energy cannonballs all rained down towards the Jiang Manor.

Zu An and the people inside the Jiang Manor were now trapped within the Spirit-Trapping Array.

Jiang Luofu and Yun Yuqing wanted to use their cultivation to help Zu An, but they were horrified to discover that they couldn’t communicate with the elemental energy of heaven and earth at all. Even their own internal energy was unresponsive. Facing the attack of a thousand armies, they would probably be instantly annihilated.

They looked at Zu An worriedly, one thinking that Zu had fallen into such a desperate situation because he was helping them, while the other blamed herself for bringing Elder Rong and the others.

However, Zu An remained perfectly calm, standing there like an unmoving mountain. He hadn’t even stirred from beginning to end.

Seeing this, both women moved to stand beside him, resolved to die together if it came to that, so they wouldn’t be lonely on the road to the netherworld.

Prince Yi and the others couldn’t help but smile. It seemed this fellow had given up resisting.

And why not? What else could he do in such a situation?

However, their smiles quickly froze, and their eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

It turned out that the overwhelming magical attacks, the shrill-whistling siege crossbow bolts, and the terrifying energy cannonballs all suddenly froze in mid-air a few feet from his body.

It was as if an invisible, immense power had blocked the terrifying full-force attack of the entire army.

“How is this possible!” Elder Rong and the others were utterly horrified. They knew that inside the Spirit-Trapping Array, the opponent shouldn’t be able to use any elemental energy at all.

Zu An then slowly walked forward. He made no discernible movements, yet wherever he passed, all the colorful lights in the sky vanished.

The Four Grand Regents of King Wu’s manor were the first to try and flee, but found themselves completely unable to move. As Zu An passed by them, without even seeing him make a move, all their vitality had already left their bodies.

Behind Elder Rong of the demon race, a purple wormhole appeared—his secret life-saving technique, intended for escape.

Unfortunately, the purple wormhole collapsed just moments after appearing.

“Since you’ve come, don’t leave.”

Hearing that god-like voice echo in his ears, Elder Rong’s face showed grim determination. He bit down on the poison hidden in his teeth and instantly died.

Even death was preferable to falling into the enemy’s hands and potentially leaking information.

“Huh, wait, why is there a transparent me? Is this the legendary soul after death? Why is Zu An looking at me and smiling? He can see me? How is that possible!”