Chapter 861: The Secret of the Inscription

Zuan hadn't expected his opponent to play by such unconventional rules, rendering him speechless and instantly turning all his brilliant ideas into smoke. Watching his opponent prepare to strike, he became as agitated as an ant on a hot pan, thinking, "My head can fall, but my other head cannot!" He hurriedly called out to Mi Li in his mind, "Empress Master, help me!"

Mi Li snorted, "Let's see if you dare to be so clever in the future." She was about to manifest and lend Zuan a hand. Despite her current state, every action depleted her soul power, and the Emperor's cultivation was exceptionally high. Still, she couldn't simply stand by and watch Zuan die.

Fortunately, at that moment, Bi Linglong spoke up from the side, "You cannot kill him!"

Zhao Ruizhi, enraged, laughed mockingly, "Oh, are you still going to plead for him?"

He Li, standing nearby, secretly shook his head. The Crown Princess was usually quite astute, so why was she acting so foolish today? Anyone else could plead for Zuan, but not her. Pleading for a paramour was just adding fuel to the fire, wasn't it?

Feeling the oppressive gaze, Bi Linglong's face turned pale, but she straightened her back and struggled to say, "Because only he knows how to get to the palace over there. You've pursued immortality your entire life; you would never let go of an opportunity like this." Although she was unaware of the verses the other group had obtained, having been in the imperial palace for so many years, she naturally understood the Emperor's desires. Being inherently clever, she immediately realized that only the pursuit of immortality could make Zhao Ruizhi temporarily set aside his animosity towards Zuan. Her gamble had unexpectedly paid off.

Though Zhao Ruizhi's heart skipped a beat, he still wouldn't admit it, sneering, "Heh, do I need him to reach that palace?" Despite his words, he didn't continue his attack; instead, he simply tossed Zuan aside.

He looked up at the floating island palace in the distance, and with a slight push of his foot, he vanished from his spot, his figure streaking directly towards it. Although the highest floating island was hundreds of *zhang* away, given his cultivation level, he could practically reach it in an instant.

However, his ascent was short-lived as he suddenly began to drop. His expression changed, and he instinctively reached back to his starting point, a transparent claw of air grappling onto the floating island. The next moment, he was back where he began.

"Still can't fly," Zhao Ruizhi muttered, his face grim. Fortunately, he had been somewhat prepared, or he might not have made it back just now.

"Your Majesty, there's a mechanism here; perhaps it's the way across," He Li immediately offered, trying to curry favor upon noticing the Emperor's sour expression, as he pointed to the array of stone slabs.

Zhao Ruizhi's eyes lit up, and he approached the stone slab array. Even though he prided himself on his exceptional intellect, he now stared at the slabs with not the slightest clue. "Is this the starry sky? But why is it so chaotic? Do they need to be rearranged in a specific pattern?..." Many ideas came to his mind, but unfortunately, he dismissed every single one.

He suddenly turned to Zuan. "Can you solve this mechanism?"

"I can solve it," Zuan said, rubbing his neck with an air of nonchalant defiance, "but if I do, you'll just kill me. Why would I bother?"

Zhao Ruizhi's pupils contracted. "Are you threatening me?"

"It's not a threat, just the truth," Zuan replied, secretly wondering how his opponent had attacked him just now and why he'd been utterly powerless to resist. It was incredibly frustrating.

Mi Li's voice echoed in his mind, "This man's cultivation is indeed unfathomable. After the Grandmaster realm, each subsequent level brings earth-shattering changes, and he is currently an Earth Immortal. Many of his attack methods and techniques are beyond your comprehension, so it's perfectly normal that you had no power to resist."

Zuan sighed, "This feeling of helplessness is truly unsettling."

Mi Li said, "Since you've called me Master, I naturally have to fulfill my duties. Later, I'll explain the common techniques used by cultivators at this level in a way you can understand. How much you grasp will depend on your own ability. But with your aptitude, you should at least not be as utterly flustered as you were just now."

Zuan grumbled, "Why didn't you teach me earlier?"

"Facing enemies of this caliber, even if I taught you these things, it would only be the difference between dying sooner or later. Naturally, I wouldn't have thought to teach them before," Mi Li snorted. "Are you going to learn or not?"

"Yes, yes, I'll learn!" Zuan quickly apologized, "Thank you, beautiful Master!"

Mi Li's eyebrows shot up. "What did you call me?"

Zuan explained, "You know what happened between me and Zhao Hao's Empress. She's also an empress, and every time I say 'Empress,' I think of her. I feel it's a bit disrespectful to you, so I changed what I call you. My Master truly is a great beauty, so calling you that is just speaking the truth."

Mi Li's lips curled into a slight smile, but she quickly suppressed it. "Just 'Master,' no other words added."

"Alright, beautiful Master," Zuan said with a sincere expression.

Mi Li was speechless.

At that moment, Zhao Ruizhi's voice came, "If you can help me achieve immortality, what do past grievances matter? I naturally won't hold onto them and guarantee to spare your life. If you don't trust me, I can even make a Heavenly Dao Oath." He secretly sneered to himself, thinking that cutting off Zuan's limbs and turning him into a "human pig" would still technically be sparing his life, and thus wouldn't count as a breach of contract.

"Your Majesty's word is as good as gold; I naturally trust you," Zuan said, his face alight with feigned surprise and delight, while secretly sneering to himself, "I'd be a fool to believe your lies."

Despite both parties harboring ulterior motives, they eventually reached an agreement.

Zuan approached the array of stone slabs. "These hint at the starry sky. As long as they are rearranged according to the correct pattern, it should work." As he spoke, he quickly moved the stone slabs on the ground, which indeed proved to be capable of sliding up, down, left, and right.

"...Azure Dragon Mengzhang Jiayin on the left, White Tiger Jianbing Jiashen on the right, Vermilion Bird Lingguang Jiawu above, Black Tortoise Zhiming Jiazi below, the Moon as the Noble entering the center..." He recalled the incantation he had seen on the stone tablet earlier, gradually arranging the stone slabs into the corresponding patterns.

As the last stone slab clicked into place, a distinct mechanical sound echoed, and the entire array, even the ground itself, trembled. Everyone looked around, but after the shaking subsided, no other changes became apparent.

He Li, standing nearby, chuckled, "Lord Zu, is this what you meant by knowing how to break this mechanism?"

Zhao Ruizhi's gaze towards Zuan also sharpened.

Zuan ignored them, carefully observing the stone slabs on the ground. His eyes suddenly landed on the circular indentations found on many of them. A thought suddenly struck him, and he took out the eighty-one luminous pearls he had previously found inside the giant turtle's shell. He placed these pearls into the circular indentations, and sure enough, they fit perfectly.

At that moment, a clanking sound emanated from underground as the stone slabs began to continuously rise and fall. Following this, some slabs sank, while others slowly rose, eventually forming several square stone pillars. Each side of every stone pillar was carved with different patterns, resembling either mythical beasts or symbols of the starry sky. Finally, the rumbling from underground ceased, and everything returned to silence.

Zuan frowned. Had the mechanism not been fully unlocked yet? He tried to move the stone pillars and found they couldn't be shifted, but they could be rotated. Moreover, rotating one pillar would cause certain other pillars to rotate in conjunction.

"So that's it..." Zuan suddenly realized, but then immediately frowned again. Although he now understood the general method, he wasn't sure what conditions the stone pillar patterns needed to satisfy. Many of the inscriptions on the stone tablet he had found earlier in the temple were missing.

Just then, Zhao Ruizhi burst into laughter. "So that's it! Indeed, destiny favors me. Zuan, you are no longer of any use." With that, he glared at Zuan with an ill-intentioned gaze, as if ready to strike at any moment. After all, he hadn't made a truly binding oath earlier, so he had no qualms about going back on his word.

Zuan, however, remained unhurried, as if everything was unfolding as he expected. "Don't be so quick to burn your bridges. Without me, even if you know the correct incantation, you won't be able to solve this mechanism." He had already realized that since he had obtained crucial incantations along his journey, it was impossible for the other group not to have gained anything as well. They must have also acquired some incantation.

Zhao Ruizhi indeed showed a hint of hesitation. He didn't immediately attack but instead gestured to He Li, "Match those patterns according to the inscriptions we found earlier in the ancient city ruins." He had already made up his mind that after He Li solved the mechanism, he would first castrate Zuan.