Chapter 857: Appearing

"What the hell?" Zu'an was startled. Though he had occasionally "appreciated" tentacle-themed content in his previous life, it was far less enjoyable when he became the target of a tentacle attack.

Tapping his foot, he quickly pulled Bi Linglong aside, dodging the onslaught of tentacles—no, wait, it was wildly overgrown weeds attempting to encircle them.

However, weeds were everywhere, growing furiously in every direction, leaving them nowhere to hide.

Bi Linglong drew her sword and began hacking at the weeds. As the Crown Princess's treasured blade, it was incredibly sharp, quickly slicing many weeds in two. Yet, this did nothing to stop them.

They grew too fast, outstripping the rate at which they were cut down.

Faced with the endless long grass, Bi Linglong's swinging speed quickly slowed. Suddenly, two long strands of grass shot out and coiled around her arms.

Her movement halted. In that brief moment of delay, her other arm and both legs were also ensnared by the long grass.

More grass took the opportunity to surge forward, winding up her legs and quickly reaching her thighs.

Other strands wrapped around her arms to her neck, threatening to reach her face.

These strange grasses cinched her body, highlighting her curves. The usually prim and proper Bi Linglong now exuded an unusual, seductive charm.

Bi Linglong had never experienced anything like this. She was filled with both shame and fear, her mind a complete blank.

Seeing this, Zu'an became furious. "If anyone's going to play *that* kind of game, it'll be me and her!"

He casually unleashed a Flame Blade, directly severing the long grass binding Bi Linglong. The flames grew with the wind, incinerating the weeds on her body almost instantly.

Originally, these grasses were extraordinary growths, impervious to ordinary fire. However, Zu'an's Flame Blade was wielded using the power of a fire phoenix, pure Phoenix Flames that these grasses could not withstand.

As if feeling the searing pain, sharp, pained cries echoed around them. The wildly growing weeds suddenly paused, then rapidly receded.

Bi Linglong fell from the air. Zu'an, tapping his foot, flew over and caught her. "Are you alright?"

"I'm... I'm fine." Bi Linglong had blushed more times today than in her entire life previously. The poses those horrid grasses had forced her into were too embarrassing, making it difficult for her to face Zu'an.

Zu'an comforted her, "It's alright, it actually looked quite good."

Hearing this, Bi Linglong wanted nothing more than to rush over and bite him hard. But then she thought, he had already seen everything, appropriate or not, so what just happened seemed insignificant...

At this moment, Zu'an had already turned his head to look in a certain direction. "Let me find that monster who dared to bully you and get revenge for you!"

With that, a massive Flame Blade ignited in his palm, and he slashed it directly towards that direction. He had noticed earlier that all the weeds had retreated in the same direction.

With a loud boom, the enormous Flame Blade cleaved a large crack in the ground. A dark figure leaped out from within, frantically batting at the flames on its body.

"An elf? A treant?" Zu'an was surprised, as the creature's appearance somewhat resembled a humanoid being.

Xue'er, too, had many vines on her head that could grow wildly and attack, making this creature's methods somewhat similar.

But Xue'er was so beautiful; who was this ugly monster in front of him?

In terms of appearance, it was hard to call it truly humanoid; covered in green hair, one could only vaguely discern a torso and limbs.

"Hoh hoh hoh..." After extinguishing the flames on its body, it stared at Zu'an with intense hatred.

Rage value from Hanzhong: 111,111,111...

"Hanzhong?" Seeing the name in the system background, Zu'an was startled. So it really was a person.

"What? You said his name is Hanzhong?" Mi Li naturally knew that his system could collect soul power fluctuations generated by human anger, so there was no way he could be mistaken about the person's identity.

"Yes, why?" Noticing her surprised expression, Zu'an couldn't help but look odd. "Don't tell me you know this monster too?"

Mi Li's expression was complex. "Did you forget I mentioned to you earlier that when Qin Shi Huang sought the elixir of immortality, four of the most renowned sorcerers in the world responded: Xu Fu, Lu Sheng, Hou Sheng, and... Hanzhong."

Zu'an: "???"

Now he was truly astonished. How could Hanzhong be here, and how could he still be alive after all this time?

"Is Hanzhong a demon or some other strange entity?" Zu'an found it hard to connect the monster before him with a human.

"No," Mi Li shook her head. "He is human. However, Hanzhong's behavior was somewhat peculiar back then. Legend has it that he consumed calamus for thirty years, after which his entire body grew green hair. From then on, he gained photographic memory and became impervious to water and fire."

"Green hair all over, but not *this* long, right?" Zu'an thought of the countless grass blades flying around just moments ago. He had burned so much of it with Phoenix Flames, yet the creature still had so much hair on its body, indicating how absurd it was.

"It wasn't this long back then. It's probably due to all these years passing," Mi Li said, her eyes filled with a complex expression as she surveyed the hairy monster.

Zu'an wondered, *Is this the 'inauspicious for ten thousand years' and covered in green hair?*

At this point, Mi Li said, "I know what kind of poison that girl just contracted. Hanzhong consumed calamus for many years, and calamus is toxic. These weeds are also mostly calamus. After being poisoned, it causes strong hallucinations, but it doesn't have the effect of an aphrodisiac. The fact that the girl acted so provocatively in the illusion after being poisoned suggests that's what she truly desires deep down, merely amplified by the hallucination."

Zu'an couldn't help but glance at Bi Linglong. He never would have guessed. Usually so proud and aloof, yet...

...she secretly desired him?

"Why are you looking at me like that?" A woman's natural sensitivity immediately made Bi Linglong realize his uncomfortable gaze.

"Nothing," Zu'an smiled. "It's just that next time you miss me, just say so. No need to suppress it so deeply."

Bi Linglong: "..."

At that moment, Hanzhong roared and charged forward. With a swing of his hand, the unleashed power was no less than that of a grandmaster.

Zu'an's expression changed. He raised an arm to block, and with a bang, he stumbled back more than ten feet. Hanzhong also fell backward in a rather undignified manner.

Feeling the numbness in his arm, Zu'an was secretly alarmed. The opponent's true strength would be difficult to handle in a prolonged fight, and attracting the emperor would be troublesome.

So he called out, "Hanzhong! We can talk first."

The humanoid monster, in the process of getting up to charge again, froze upon hearing that name.

"Han... zhong..." His voice was extremely strained, as if he hadn't spoken for so long that he'd forgotten how.

He clutched his head with both hands, a pained expression on his face. "Who... is Hanzhong? Who am I? Arghhh..."

He frantically shook his head and repeatedly hit it with his hands, soon leaving his scalp bleeding profusely.

Then he abruptly raised his head. "Immortality... no, they're all dead. Everyone will die..."

As soon as he finished speaking, he charged forward in a rage.

Zu'an looked dejected. After all that, it still came down to a fight.

Since the opponent clearly possessed a wood attribute, Zu'an immediately used his Flame Blade, which indeed kept the creature at a disadvantage.

After they exchanged a few blows, Mi Li exclaimed, "Wait, something's wrong. He seems to only retain some combat instincts; he's not using any advanced fighting techniques. Otherwise, given his cultivation level from back then and his survival until now, you would be no match for him."

Zu'an felt it too. The opponent fought like a wild beast, not even comparable to a fierce beast, which would at least have various innate skills.

Just then, Mi Li suddenly floated out, and with a delicate touch, poked a vital pressure point beneath the opponent's ribs.

Hanzhong let out an unwilling growl, then fell heavily to the ground.

Zu'an looked at Mi Li in surprise. "You actually helped me?"

"I didn't help you; I have something to ask him," Mi Li replied. She then fully manifested and stood before Hanzhong. "Hanzhong, do you still recognize me?"

Bi Linglong was just wondering why the monster had suddenly collapsed when she saw a beautiful woman in a red dress appear out of thin air before her, causing her eyes to widen in astonishment.