Chapter 866: 本想以普通人身份和你们相处

Zhao Ruizhi's hair stood on end, and an alarm bell rang loudly in his heart. How many years had it been since he had felt such a close brush with death, ever since mastering his divine skill?

He no longer bothered with the archer general, quickly bringing his hand back to block to the side.

A flash of golden and black light appeared, unleashing a powerful shockwave. The surrounding heavy terracotta warriors could not withstand it; those nearby shattered, while those slightly further away were knocked off balance.

Zhao Ruizhi retreated over ten paces, blood dripping from his palm. It had been years; this was his first injury, and he had even forgotten what it felt like.

However, at this moment, he paid no mind to his wound, staring intently instead at the one who had wounded him.

He saw the opponent enveloped in black mist, his face completely obscured. However, from his outline, it was vaguely discernible that he wore armor, suggesting he was also a general or similar figure.

In his hand was a halberd, but the blade extending from the spearhead was not straight like a typical halberd. Instead, it was crescent-shaped and much longer than an ordinary halberd. Overall, it looked more like a scythe.

What was even more striking was the strong aura of death emanating from him. Even Zu An and others from afar could smell a thick stench of blood, as if he had just emerged from a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood.

"Who are you?" Zhao Ruizhi asked in a deep voice. "Anyone who can wound me is certainly no nobody."

Unfortunately, the opponent did not respond. Instead, enveloped in black mist, he swung his scythe and attacked again.

Zhao Ruizhi's heart tightened; not daring to be careless in the slightest, he quickly met the attack. In an instant, they exchanged several blows, their speed beyond anyone's imagination. The people from Qi King's Residence couldn't even see their movements.

Even Zu An, straining his eyes, could barely see a few afterimages. He couldn't help but ask, "Beautiful Master, who is this formidable person?"

He almost chopped off the Emperor's head with a single strike; he was truly formidable.

Mi Li's face showed a strange expression. "Great Qin... no, he should be the First General of the Warring States, the Human Butcher — Bai Qi."

Zu An was startled. He turned his head abruptly to look. "Is he the famous Bai Qi from history?"

In the Battle of Yique, he decisively defeated a combined army of 240,000 from Wei and Han. In the campaign against Chu, he captured the Chu capital. In the Battle of Changping, he annihilated 400,000 surrendered Zhao soldiers in one battle. Throughout his life, he killed countless enemies, earning him the title "Human Butcher."

"I understand what they are now," Mi Li said, her expression complex. "This is Xiquanqiu, the ancestral shrine of the Qin imperial family. Not only are the successive Qin kings enshrined here, but also the meritorious officials of the Qin Dynasty, similar to an imperial ancestral temple. Wang Jian and Bai Qi must be the heroic spirits within the temple."

Successive dynasties have had similar halls for meritorious officials, such as the Qilin Pavilion of the Western Han, the Twenty-Eight Generals of Yuntai in the Eastern Han, and the Lingyan Pavilion of the Tang Dynasty. Other dynasties would also select notable officials to enter the imperial ancestral temple and receive incense offerings alongside successive emperors, making it a great honor for ministers.

Back then, Emperor Yongzheng, upon his death, decreed that Zhang Tingyu could be enshrined in the imperial ancestral temple in the future. As a result, Zhang Tingyu walked on thin ice for this supreme honor, fearing any misstep. Yet, before his death, Emperor Qianlong still revoked his right to enter the temple, which was sickening to recall.

Zu An couldn't help but say excitedly, "Then Zhao Hao is doomed, isn't he?"

He had been wondering how to deal with the Emperor in this secret realm, but he didn't expect a solution to present itself.

Mi Li shook her head. "If they were in their prime, Wang Jian's strength would be on par with Zhao Hao's, and Bai Qi would be even stronger. But now they are just wisps of residual souls and obsessions existing in this unique environment. Their strength is far inferior to their peak. To kill Zhao Hao would probably be exceedingly difficult."

As expected, as soon as she finished speaking, the battle on the other side had already changed.

Zhao Ruizhi's fist struck the black shadow, and the dense black mist around the opponent dispersed, clearly indicating a significant injury.

Zhao Ruizhi sneered, "No matter what you are, die now!"

His other fist slammed directly towards the opponent's head. The fist no longer gleamed with golden light as before, but had turned a pure golden color, as if his entire fist had transformed into gold.

Just then, "Wang Jian" on the other side drew his bow and nocked an arrow, which silently reached Zhao Ruizhi's back.

Zhao Ruizhi's face showed hesitation. Ultimately, he didn't want to take the risk, so he turned around and blasted the arrow into dust with a single punch.

At this moment, "Bai Qi" swung his scythe and attacked from the other side. With one providing ranged suppression and the other engaging directly, they effectively pinned Zhao Ruizhi, leaving him helpless.

At the same time, they occasionally commanded their terracotta warrior army to coordinate attacks. Both were renowned generals in their lifetimes, and even though they were only wisps of residual souls now, the ability to command battles was an ingrained instinct. Under their command, the power displayed by the terracotta warriors doubled. Later, "Bai Qi" didn't even need to engage Zhao Ruizhi in prolonged direct combat; he only needed to lend a hand occasionally.

No matter how strong Zhao Ruizhi was, he was gradually overwhelmed by the tidal wave of terracotta warriors.

A strong warning arose in his heart. He knew that if he continued to entangle with these endless terracotta warriors, he might even perish here.

So, he made a quick decision. He found an opportunity to break through a gap and quickly disappeared into the distance.

Seeing this, "Bai Qi" and "Wang Jian" hurriedly led their chariots and cavalry forces in a thundering pursuit.

Logically, ordinary chariots and warhorses could not keep up with the speed of cultivators. But somehow, their chariots were incredibly fast, surprisingly able to keep up with Zhao Ruizhi from a distance.

Seeing this scene, the people from Qi King's Residence were dumbfounded. He Li rubbed his eyes in disbelief. "The Emperor... fled?"

Perhaps Zu An didn't feel it as strongly, but for the citizens of the capital like them, the Emperor's powerful and invincible image had left an indelible impression in their hearts. His casual displays of power in the secret realm had further confirmed this. Yet now, he had been beaten into a frantic retreat. In that instant, it was as if something within their hearts had completely crumbled.

However, they had no time to lament, because while highly mobile cavalry and chariot units pursued Zhao Ruizhi, many more infantry terracotta warriors remained behind.

They suddenly turned their heads to look at the group, then charged towards them, weapons in hand.

"Oh my!" Although He Li was at the peak of the ninth rank, his courage had already been stripped away by several encounters in the secret realm. He had no thought of fighting; seeing them charge, he immediately turned and fled.

He kept reassuring himself that while he might not outrun all the terracotta warriors, he only needed to outrun his companions, letting them buy him some time. Perhaps he could even find some immortal fortune amidst the chaos.

Seeing him run, the others scattered even faster, each fleeing in a different direction.

"Let's go!" Zu An also pulled Bi Linglong and sprinted towards the distant light bridge.

However, more and more terracotta warriors surrounded them. Soon, a slower member of Qi King's Residence was encircled. Though he resisted fiercely, he was outnumbered and was hacked to death almost instantly.

Hearing various screams constantly coming from afar, Bi Linglong's face turned pale. These strange terracotta warriors were everywhere; could they truly escape?

Along the way, she several times drew her sword and engaged the terracotta warriors. She felt that each individual warrior was not weak; with her sixth-rank cultivation, she could handle one or two. But their coordination was too tight; with five or six combined, she could only flee, and even then, escape wasn't guaranteed.

Fortunately, Zu An's speed was incredibly fast throughout. He was always able to pull her through the gaps in the terracotta warriors' encirclement at the last moment.

After an unknown period of time, she could no longer see any of the people from Qi King's Residence. Although they had been enemies before, they were all human after all and had spent some time together on the journey. Surely, they were more reassuring than these lifeless terracotta warriors before her.

Suddenly, Bi Linglong's face turned ashen, because she saw another team of terracotta warriors appear ahead. These creatures even knew how to use flanking tactics!

She felt a sense of despair. Even the invincible Emperor could only flee in disarray; how could they possibly defeat so many terracotta warriors?

She hardened her resolve and said directly to Zu An, "Ah Zu, you go. Don't mind me. I'll cover your retreat; you might still have a chance to escape alone."

Zu An looked at her in surprise. "You've got it backward, haven't you? With your cultivation, what retreat can you cover? If anyone's covering a retreat, it's me."

Bi Linglong shook her head. "My cultivation is too low. Even if you cover my retreat, I won't get far. You're different; with your cultivation, you still have a chance to escape alone."

Seeing Zu An about to say more, she suddenly stood on her tiptoes and kissed him. "Ah Zu, don't say anything more. Thank you for taking care of me all this way. It's my turn to do something for you now. Although we've faced many dangers during this time, I'm actually very happy... very happy to have met you in this life... There's not much time left, hurry and go. Don't let both of us die here; it would be meaningless."

Watching the terracotta warriors get closer and closer, Bi Linglong grew truly anxious and kept urging Zu An to leave.

"Who said we're going to die?" Zu An said with a strange expression, then, looking at the murderous terracotta warriors, he continued, "I originally wanted to get along with you as an ordinary person, but all I got was your relentless aggression. Fine, I'm done pretending."

A dragon's roar echoed. He drew the Tai'a Sword and held it high. With the Primordial Chaos Scripture fully active throughout his body, he declared, "The Qin Emperor is here! All generals and soldiers, heed my command!"