Chapter 855: 结发受长生

As Mi Li's words faded, a series of whimpers suddenly echoed around them, as if something was crying out.

Zu An's expression flickered. He rushed to the window to look, seeing only overgrown weeds outside, their man-high blades swaying ceaselessly in the wind. Some loose wooden planks by the broken window rustled loudly.

"A'Zu, I'm a little cold," Bi Linglong said, her face somewhat pale as she instinctively grasped his hand.

Feeling her hand uncommonly cold, Zu An comforted her, "Don't worry, it's probably just the wind. This temple's structure is very peculiar, with various openings everywhere. The wind blowing through them creates this eerie, wailing sound."

Bi Linglong hummed in assent and leaned against him, saying nothing more.

Zu An then asked Mi Li, "Empress Teacher, this doesn't seem right. Logically, King Qin should have built this place, but with his arrogant and self-important nature, how could he possibly erect a statue for Xu Fu, especially with such an inscription? Could it be that Xu Fu built this temple?"

Mi Li's brows furrowed deeply. "It's highly unlikely Ying Zheng would build such a statue for anyone else. As for Xu Fu... this is the ancestral land of the Qin Kings throughout history; how could he possibly have had the opportunity to build it?"

"That's true," Zu An nodded. "But then the question arises: if it wasn't built by King Qin, and it wasn't built by Xu Fu, then who built it?"

After this exchange, both fell into deep thought.

Just then, Bi Linglong's startled cry suddenly came from beside him: "No!"

Zu An was startled. "What's wrong?"

Only then did he realize she had fallen asleep in his arms. He figured it was due to her significant energy depletion earlier, compounded by the constant high stress she had been under recently.

Zu An didn't wake her. To make her more comfortable, he carried her and sat down by a stone block nearby, gently patting her to soothe her.

He felt her body occasionally tremble, wondering what nightmare she was having.

Just as he was about to resume his discussion with Mi Li, Bi Linglong's voice sounded again: "It hurts."

Her voice now lacked its usual competence and pride; instead, it was soft and helpless.

Zu An called out to her several more times, but she showed no sign of waking. He had no choice but to gently place his palm on her back, continuously channeling warm elemental energy into her body. This would nourish her and, he hoped, help dispel her nightmare.

Not long after, Bi Linglong suddenly spoke with a whimper, "It hurts, be gentler, A'Zu..."

Zu An was speechless.

Mi Li, hearing this, turned her head, a half-smile playing on her lips. "It seems like you're doing something to this woman in her dream."

Before Zu An could reply, Bi Linglong slowly opened her eyes. She stared at Zu An for a moment, then her beautiful eyes seemed about to well up.

She squirmed continuously in Zu An's arms, her delicate, fair hand gently stroking his face, then slowly moving downwards, brushing over his neck, his chest...

"Is this woman getting frisky?" Mi Li scoffed, turning away abruptly. She seemed intent on examining the temple's oddities, as if too bothered to watch their messy affairs.

Feeling the astonishingly supple body in his arms, Zu An felt his mouth go dry. He quickly tried to divert his attention, asking, "Are you awake?"

Bi Linglong hummed, her voice exceptionally tender and seductive. "After what you did to me in my dream, you still dare to ask?"

Zu An was speechless.

What did what happened in her dream have to do with him?

Yet, he had to admit, women were natural enchantresses. Someone like Bi Linglong, normally so proper, became so effortlessly alluring when she decided to be seductive.

Her watery eyes, her warm and pliant body, her utterly soft voice—everything seemed to convey a silent invitation.

Zu An had just completed his third body tempering with the Primordial Chaos Sutra, and his Yang energy was already at its peak. With her subtle seduction, his body immediately stiffened.

Feeling the suffocating pressure emanating from him, Bi Linglong's face grew even redder. She spoke softly, "A'Zu, I've thought it through. The Emperor is trying to kill us. We can escape for a day, but not forever. Instead of living in constant fear and hiding, why don't we seize the moment and live each day happily?"

Zu An swallowed with difficulty. "What do you mean?"

Bi Linglong's watery, beautiful eyes slanted at him, her gaze in that instant captivating. "It's not like I don't know what you're thinking, you scoundrel. You deliberately used me to anger him before, and those words were clearly your true feelings, weren't they?"

Caught red-handed, Zu An felt a little embarrassed.

Bi Linglong's moist, red lips drew closer. "Although we can't defeat him, we can get back at him, can't we?"

Meanwhile, in the desert, Zhao Ruizhi sneezed, then looked up, unable to help but ask, "He Li, is there a green light on the ceiling?"

It turned out that his group had been fighting vengeful spirits and black scorpions while progressing deeper into the desert, eventually accidentally falling into a quicksand vortex.

With Zhao Ruizhi's cultivation, he naturally wouldn't be trapped by mere quicksand. However, when the Qiwang Manor's warriors struggled, they inadvertently exposed some city walls within the quicksand. It was then that he realized an ancient city ruin was buried beneath.

Finally, there was something different in this vast, endless desert. He had a premonition that what he needed was hidden here.

So, he led everyone into this underground ancient city ruin.

However, as soon as they entered the main gate, they suffered a considerable loss. The scouts, having just opened the city gate, were suddenly met with a sea of flames from within. Although Zhao Ruizhi quickly extinguished the blaze, the two scouts had already been burnt to cinders.

After this incident, everyone became extremely vigilant.

They subsequently encountered various mechanisms and traps within the ruins. However, these individuals were already well-trained experts, and with Zhao Ruizhi leading the way, they quickly passed through without much danger.

Eventually, the group arrived in a vast, empty hall, where they did find some items, but none of them were of any use to Zhao Ruizhi.

Having found no clues related to eternal life, Zhao Ruizhi was already irritable. Then, seeing the green cloud above him, an unbidden surge of anger rose within him.

Although He Li said he saw no green, Zhao Ruizhi's mind remained unsettled.

So, he directly raised his palm and struck the stone slab above that he perceived as green. It shattered, and a large quantity of quicksand poured down.

The people in the hall quickly dodged. Just then, someone suddenly shouted, "Look, a stone tablet!"

Zhao Ruizhi also noticed it. The massive stone tablet had fallen with the quicksand. He flickered and appeared next to it, while an invisible burst of energy deflected the quicksand falling from above him.

He glanced at He Li. "Go plug that hole."

If left unchecked, the hall would likely be filled with quicksand.

He Li looked dejected. "You created the hole, and I have to block it? Why am I so unlucky?" he thought to himself.

Nevertheless, he dared not complain. He quickly flew up, pressed his back against the hole, and clung tightly to the ceiling with his limbs, using his body to block the quicksand.

Endless quicksand cascaded down, and the immense pressure was almost unbearable even for his peak ninth-rank cultivation. He could only pray the Emperor would finish quickly so they could all evacuate.

Meanwhile, Zhao Ruizhi was examining the stone tablet before him. Made of an unknown material, it was entirely green. Most of the inscriptions on both sides were blurred and illegible, with only a few sentences remaining.

The characters were extremely strange, but Zhao Ruizhi, being immensely learned, had seen similar ones in ancient texts.

He slowly read aloud: "...In a flurry, I ride the dark clouds, widely opening the gate of heaven; The heavenly sun returns to the golden palace, the southern stars encircle the Jade Pivot; The ornate canopy turns purple, the elegant music enters Zheng; Who can decipher this, shall achieve eternal life..."

"Eternal life!" Seeing those last two words, his breathing suddenly quickened.