Chapter 1455: Battle Formation Key

When Yan Xuehen realized her secret was about to be exposed, her mind went blank. "It's over, I'm ruined," she thought. "That demoness will mock me relentlessly for the rest of my life."

How would Yu Yanluo see her?

More importantly, what would her disciple, Chu Yan, think of her once she found out?

Not to mention, it would ruin the reputation of the entire White Jade Capital and make her an object of scorn and ridicule worldwide.

She even felt an urge to draw her sword and take her own life.

Fortunately, Zu An reacted quickly, clamping a hand over Mo Xi's mouth.

"Mmmph… Mmmph mmmph…" Mo Xi’s subsequent words became muffled and indistinct.

Normally, with her cultivation, Zu An would never have been able to touch her, but now, severely wounded and weak, she had no time to evade.

Initially, she was a little annoyed, but seeing Zu An's and Yan Xuehen's reactions, she immediately understood that the two were secretly engaged in a clandestine romance.

Her desire for gossip immediately took over. Her beautiful eyes darted between the two of them, and she no longer minded the physical contact.

Yun Jianyue frowned. "What are they... 'lovers'?" she began. "Little Anzi, why are you covering her mouth?"

Zu An quickly replied, "Mainly, her condition is very poor. She's already severely wounded and has been continuously depleting her energy. I'm worried she might dissipate completely, so I'm letting her rest and recover."

At the same time, he secretly communicated with Mo Xi.

"I should send you back; your condition is quite dire."

"It's fine. It won't take long, and I want to watch the show."

"..."

Seeing Zu An gritting his teeth, Mo Xi smiled, pursing her lips, and quietly replied, "Of course, I can cooperate, but it'll cost you extra. Those fruits from before—100, no, 200 of them!"

Although she had never personally tasted them, the body's strong memories made her mouth water.

Zu An knew she was referring to the Vitality Fruits. In this situation, there was no time to haggle. "Alright!" he conceded.

At that moment, Yu Yanluo also spoke, "A'Zu, Mo Xi is weak right now; don't smother her."

Zu An thought, "You clearly want to hear Mo Xi continue, yet you insist on speaking so nobly. When did you become so cunning?"

Still, cleverness triumphs. He had swiftly dealt with her.

At this point, Yun Jianyue impatiently urged, "Little Anzi, quickly release her! Do you really have something scandalous going on?"

Yan Xuehen, meanwhile, stared nervously at Zu An, shaking her head slightly, her eyes filled with pleading.

If Mo Xi's mouth remained covered, others would only suspect, and she could simply deny everything.

But if Mo Xi spoke, everything would truly be over.

Zu An smiled at her, then released his hand from Mo Xi’s mouth. Yan Xuehen stared, dumbfounded.

She was practically going mad. That scoundrel!

"There's really nothing going on. If you don't believe me, ask her yourselves," Zu An said, shrugging.

Yun Jianyue and Yu Yanluo immediately fixed their gaze on Mo Xi. "You just said they were 'love' something? Lovers?"

Mo Xi replied with a mischievous smile, "They entered into a contract out of necessity, likely to deal with a powerful enemy. Oh, why would you assume they're lovers?"

Zu An secretly gave her a thumbs-up. As expected of a historically famous wicked consort, though she resembled a valiant female general, when it came to playing mind games, she was absolutely sincere.

"Is that so?" Yu Yanluo asked, still a bit confused, feeling that something wasn't quite right.

"What kind of contract is that, one that can be used to deal with powerful enemies? I've never heard of such a thing," Yun Jianyue said, not so easily fooled. Her sharp eyes scrutinized Zu An and Yan Xuehen.

At this point, Yan Xuehen also reacted, worried that Zu An might let something slip and that it would be difficult to deceive a Grandmaster like Yun Jianyue. So she quickly interjected, "Back in the Great Snow Mountain, we encountered a Snow Maiden. She was an Earth Immortal, and we were outmatched. We had no choice but to use a secret contract art to borrow and stimulate each other's powers, and only then did we barely manage to escape."

"Is that so? I've been your adversary for so many years; why have I never heard of such a secret contract art in your White Jade Capital?" Yun Jianyue asked, frowning. They had heard about the Snow Maiden incident, but hadn't realized there was this additional element.

Yan Xuehen's heart pounded, but she maintained a calm exterior. "It's not from White Jade Capital," she stated. "I accidentally obtained it in a secret realm years ago. Hmph, why am I explaining so much to you anyway? Why should I let you know my trump card?"

She was concerned that Yun Jianyue might seek verification from the White Jade Capital in the future, so she didn't even dare to claim it originated there.

Yun Jianyue remained skeptical. Suddenly, Yu Yanluo, who was nearby, spoke up, "So, you and A'Zu's internal energies have been connected during this time?"

She thought to herself, "No wonder I felt there was something odd about them earlier. It seems I wasn't just imagining things."

This sudden question nearly made Yan Xuehen blush crimson. What did "connected" even mean?

They had indeed been connected during the Great Snow Mountain incident. She quickly explained, "Of course not. It was merely a temporary measure back then, and it hasn't been activated since. This secret contract art is very unique, and I can't undo it myself, which is why I've troubled Miss Mo Xi with it."

Mo Xi's lips curved into a slight smile. This woman appeared pure and ethereal; she had thought her a respectable, conventional lady. Now, however, it seemed she was a seductive hussy, just like herself.

Yan Xuehen's lengthy explanation left Yun Jianyue and Yu Yanluo half-believing, half-doubting. Zu An quickly seized the opportunity to summon Mo Xi back into the special space.

Just then, a powerful wave of energy fluctuations suddenly erupted in the distance.

"That's an Earth Immortal level battle!" Yun Jianyue exclaimed, no longer caring about gossip. Her attention was quickly drawn to the distant commotion.

Yan Xuehen secretly breathed a sigh of relief. "That seems to be the Demon Emperor's power," she murmured.

Yun Jianyue nodded. "He appears to be battling a powerful entity whose cultivation is no less than his own."

Yu Yanluo couldn't help but exclaim, "There are simply too many powerful beings in this secret realm! A'Zu, how on earth did you manage to survive and emerge from those unknown lands before?"

Zu An said gravely, "Each unknown land has a core formation eye. Only by resolving the issue of that core can one leave; otherwise, they'll be trapped in this secret realm for life."

"Where exactly is this secret realm's core formation eye? We retraced Yi's heroic journey, even resolved the 'ten suns in the sky' issue, and were passively involved in the severing of the path between heaven and man. Why can't we leave yet?" Yun Jianyue asked, visibly annoyed. They had accomplished so much along the way, but it all seemed to have been in vain so far.

The main problem was that this unknown land provided no hints or guidance, leaving them without any direction for their efforts.

This world was incredibly vast; even if they wanted to use a brute-force method to search every inch, it would be impossible.

Zu An pondered for a moment before speaking. "Based on my previous experience," he said, "each unknown land is connected to an ancient dynasty, often involving some famous monarchs of that era—either founding emperors or those who presided over their nation's downfall."

"Jie of Xia, who just died, was the last ruler of the Xia Dynasty. Oh, and by the way, Mo Xi was the empress at that time."

"This unknown land is likely related to the Xia Dynasty. Since Jie of Xia isn't the core formation eye, then what the core truly is becomes obvious."

"Who?" The three women asked, looking somewhat bewildered. They knew nothing about these ancient dynasties and were curious how Zu An knew all of this.

"Do you remember who Shun wanted us to deal with when he asked us to retrace the heroic journey and gain recognition from the divine artifacts?" Zu An asked, gazing into the distance with a profound look in his eyes.

"Yu the Great, the founding monarch of the Xia Dynasty?" Although the three women weren't versed in Xia Dynasty history, their exceptional memories allowed them to recall Shun's words. "But since the path between heaven and man was severed, Shun dissipated prematurely. Where would we even find Yu the Great now?"

Zu An said gravely, "Do you think the Demon Emperor is a fool?"

"Of course not," Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue said in unison. "On the contrary, he is one of the most brilliant and extraordinary individuals of this era; otherwise, he wouldn't be one of the two strongest people in the world."

"If that's the case, and even we have uncovered this much information during this time, then what about the brilliant Demon Emperor?" Zu An pressed.

The three women's eyes lit up. "Are you saying..."

"If I'm not mistaken, we've only uncovered half of the secrets of this unknown land," Zu An paused, then said with a solemn expression, "The other half of the secrets are most likely in the Demon Emperor's hands!"