Chapter 836: Graveyard Disco

Seeing the Crown Prince walk towards him, Zu An’s hairs stood on end.

However, the more perilous the situation, the calmer he became. He didn’t immediately rush out to escape. He knew that even with his greatly improved cultivation and his ability to teleport with Gale, he still couldn’t possibly escape.

His peripheral vision caught a glimpse of a dark shadow, and a surge of joy filled him. He quickly communicated using the jade cong.

The Crown Prince was getting closer. Just then, a dark shadow suddenly leaped out of the grass and scurried away. With a casual grab, the shadow landed in the Crown Prince’s hand, squeaking.

The Crown Prince’s expression relaxed. "It’s just a brocade mouse." As soon as he finished speaking, he twisted his hand, breaking the brocade mouse’s neck.

Rage value from the brocade mouse +111…

What the hell, are you serious?

The Crown Prince’s aura swept the surroundings before he returned to Piao Duandiao and Jiao Sigun. He placed his hands on their heads but then stopped, muttering, "No, I need to leave two alive as witnesses." Confirming they were indeed unconscious, he grabbed one in each hand and shot straight into the sky, disappearing into the air.

Hidden in the grass, Zu An worried the Crown Prince might return for a final check, so he didn’t dare move an inch. Only after a long time did he finally breathe a sigh of relief. "Good thing I remained calm, otherwise I’d be meeting the King of Hell right now."

"Heh," Mi Li scoffed. "If I hadn’t just concealed your aura for you, do you think you could have hidden from his senses?"

Zu An paused, then couldn’t help but chuckle. "Empress Sister, you really do love me after all."

Mi Li’s expression instantly changed. "What did you say?"

Zu An explained, "It’s just a saying from my hometown. It means that even though you say you won’t help me, you still won’t abandon me at a critical moment."

Mi Li snorted. "I’m not helping you; I’m saving myself. With this enemy, even if you performed exceptionally, you’d still have no chance of survival."

Zu An smiled slightly, confirming that this woman was indeed tough on the outside but soft on the inside.

However, his attention quickly shifted back to the Emperor. He couldn’t help but lament, "I should have suspected something was off earlier. No wonder the Emperor didn’t seem to care much about the *Phoenix Nirvana Sutra* back then. It turns out he already had his own method for achieving immortality. And he tricked me by saying I could achieve an alternative form of immortality by leaving my name in history. I was so foolish and naive to believe his nonsense. How could an Emperor like him be content with merely being remembered in history?"

Mi Li nodded in agreement. "Zhao Hao’s political maneuvering and cunning are truly at the pinnacle among emperors. He’s comparable to Qin Shi Huang himself."

While lamenting, Zu An also secretly felt fortunate. The Emperor’s wisp of a soul usually remained in deep slumber. Otherwise, he would likely have known when Zu An controlled the Crown Prince with the jade cong back in the Eastern Palace.

Wait a minute...

Zu An suddenly recalled Concubine Bai’s warning: "The Emperor is more powerful than you imagine; he knows everything, he just doesn’t say it." This sentence echoed in his mind. He quickly asked Mi Li, "Do you think the Emperor already knew about these things?"

Mi Li shook her head. "His soul-possession method incurs a huge cost to awaken each time. At that moment, the Crown Prince wasn’t in any life-threatening danger, so your brief control over him with the jade cong shouldn’t have had much impact."

Zu An let out a long breath. "That’s good, that’s good."

Mi Li scoffed, "Aren’t you celebrating too soon? Even if the Emperor didn’t know about that specific incident, he most likely knows about everything that’s happened in this secret realm. You’ve displayed an extraordinary combat ability throughout this journey, and your strength has grown too rapidly. As a competent emperor, he will never tolerate an anomaly like you. Furthermore, he’ll probably question why your cultivation improved so quickly and consequently suspect that the *Phoenix Nirvana Sutra* you gave him is fake."

Zu An felt like cursing now. What had he risked his life for? Wasn’t it to save that idiotic Crown Prince? And now, because of it, he was exposed. What kind of messed up situation was this?

"Also, he saw everything this whole journey—how you and the Crown Princess acted like a couple bound by life and death," Mi Li added, a hint of schadenfreude in her voice.

Zu An felt numb all over. He remembered when he saved the Emperor in the Eastern Palace and rescued Bi Linglong’s life. Instead of being pleased, the Emperor was furious and wanted to chop off his hands simply because he had hugged Bi Linglong once. At the time, he thought the Emperor was merely temperamental. Now he understood why that guy was so enraged: Bi Linglong was not only his daughter-in-law but also his predetermined future wife. No wonder the Emperor never questioned why Bi Linglong, as the Crown Princess, remained a virgin. It must have been because he planned to personally consummate their marriage after his soul possession.

The thought of having slept with the Emperor’s current wife and being entangled with his future wife made Zu An feel like he was dancing on a grave.

With a long face, Zu An asked, "So what do I do now?"

Mi Li said, "The Crown Prince’s body contains a wisp of the Emperor’s soul. Ordinarily, their thoughts would be interconnected. However, currently within this secret realm, which is a world unto itself, even Zhao Hao can’t communicate with his soul fragment across dimensions. So, there’s one way: eliminate this soul wisp here in the secret realm. Then, once you’re outside, the Emperor won’t know what happened inside, and with your intelligence, you should be able to bluff your way through."

Zu An could only give a hollow laugh at this suggestion. Eliminate the Emperor’s soul fragment in this secret realm? Lu Xiaoh, a mid-stage Grandmaster, couldn’t even withstand two moves against him just now!

"Sigh, I’d better start thinking about how to escape after leaving the secret realm," Zu An said. He even began to consider where to flee. Brightmoon City was clearly out of the question, as it would only bring disaster to the Chu clan. It seemed he could only go to the demon territories. Hmm, that would also be a good opportunity to find Qiao Xueying.

Alas, farewell, bustling capital. Farewell, all my confidantes...

Mi Li fell silent. "Fine, it’s indeed unlikely you can kill his soul fragment. But if you’re going to escape, it’s best to leave the secret realm now. Otherwise, once the Emperor finds you, it’ll be too late to run."

Zu An grunted in agreement and ran directly towards the secret realm’s entrance. Fearing discovery by the Emperor, he dared not fly in the sky. As for Bi Linglong, since the Emperor was there, she should be fine. He’d find another chance to leave a letter and tell her the truth.

His mood was exceptionally heavy now; he couldn’t afford to think too much.

He stealthily hurried along. Suddenly, rumbling sounds echoed from underground. Birds scattered from distant forests, and many fierce beasts charged wildly in all directions, as if an earthquake were about to strike.

Zu An was startled. "What’s going on?"

"This secret realm is a bit strange," Mi Li hesitated, not saying much more.

"That shouldn’t be right. This is the Imperial Academy’s designated area; this secret realm should be very stable," Zu An said, feeling curious.

Mi Li replied, "Humans still know too little about secret realms. With these spatial rifts, anything can happen. It’s best to leave as soon as possible."

"Okay!" Zu An’s life was on the line now, so he didn’t bother thinking about it further.

He focused on running towards the secret realm’s exit. After an unknown period, sounds of fighting suddenly reached him from ahead.

Zu An’s expression changed. "It couldn’t be such a coincidence, could it?" He decisively changed direction, deciding to go around. He certainly didn’t dare to meddle now.

Just then, a delicate cry came from behind him, and he suddenly shuddered, coming to a halt.

Mi Li scoffed, "You two really are destined for each other."

The woman’s voice ahead was clearly Bi Linglong’s, and from the sounds of it, she was in extreme danger. Mi Li didn’t advise Zu An to leave because, after spending so much time together, she knew he wasn’t that kind of person. Although she often scoffed at his irrational actions, if he were truly so rational as to abandon a confidante in peril, she would dislike him even more.

Meanwhile, Bi Linglong was sitting on the ground, utterly disheveled, looking at the three Dead Soldiers from Prince Qi’s Manor surrounding her. Her previous strategy had been successful. By constantly splitting up and fleeing, she had managed to draw away the skilled pursuers. She was about to escape when she was surrounded by several warriors from Prince Qi’s Manor. Due to her scattered escape, she no longer had any guards with her. Moreover, having previously used a secret technique, she was now close to exhaustion. After a brief struggle, she was naturally no match for the three Dead Soldiers from Prince Qi’s Manor.

Staring at her fair, exposed arm where her sleeve had been torn off, the eyes of the surrounding Dead Soldiers from Prince Qi’s Manor grew fervent.

One of them swallowed hard. "Damn it, I’ve been holding it in for three years. Haven’t seen a single woman, and my hands are calloused. Today, I’m definitely getting some action!"

Another expressed a slight concern, "She is the Crown Princess, after all. Wouldn’t this be inappropriate?"

"Crown Princess my ass, she’ll be dead soon anyway," the third one snorted coldly. "Since we’re going to kill her, it’d be a waste to just do it like this. Might as well have some fun first."

Hearing him, a strange desire also flickered in the second man’s eyes. They were already Dead Soldiers with no future, and three years of solitary life in the secret realm, living among wild beasts, was enough to turn a normal person into a complete savage.

"Too bad her hair is a bit white..."

"It’s been three years. I’d find a sow beautiful enough to be a courtesan queen right now, let alone someone as pretty as her."

"Who’s going first?"

Hearing their foul words, Bi Linglong felt both shame and fury. She never imagined she would fall to such a state. Unfortunately, her acupuncture points were sealed, making even suicide impossible. The thought that her hard-preserved chastity would be ruined here brought a pang of regret. If she had known this would happen, she might as well have given herself to Zu An back then.

With Prince Qi’s Manor’s experts catching up, Zu An, who had been covering their retreat, was likely in grave danger. The thought pierced her heart, and she could no longer control herself as tears, like broken pearls, streamed down her face.