Chapter 1457: Unsealing the Seal

His hair was matted, either with blood or sweat, revealing large patches of his scalp, making him look like a middle-aged man suffering from male pattern baldness.

He had a massive hole in his chest, so large that one could see the wall behind him through it.

A normal person would have died instantly from such an injury, but the Demon Emperor's aura remained steady, and golden flames flickered around him, clearly indicating he was using the Golden Crow Sacred Flame to frantically heal his wounds.

At that moment, the Demon Emperor also sensed something amiss. He opened his eyes and looked over, then froze when he saw Zu An and his companions, utterly surprised it was them.

The Golden Crow Prince immediately rushed to shield the Demon Emperor. "Don't even think about taking advantage of this," he declared. "As long as I'm here, you won't harm a single hair on my father's head."

Wu Liang's eyes darted around. During the recent battle between the Demon Emperor and Qiongqi, his cultivation and the Golden Crow Prince's were too far inferior to participate, so their combat strength remained fully intact.

He pondered whether to seize this opportunity to betray the Demon Emperor and team up with Zu An's group to eliminate him. Otherwise, if he remained under the Demon Emperor's command, he might not survive until the end.

Seeing his son's display of filial piety, the Demon Emperor cursed him silently, thinking, "Fool, isn't he just exposing my weakness?"

He pushed the Prince aside and stared intently at Zu An and the others. "I didn't expect you would actually dare to come here," he said.

Zu An smiled slightly. "As the saying goes, 'wealth comes from danger.' If we didn't have the courage, how could we encounter such a good opportunity?"

At that moment, the other three women, understanding tacitly, spread out, ready to act at any moment.

Wu Liang also quietly stood up, preparing to make a move.

At the same time, he felt a bit dejected. These guys were all paired up, leaving him alone and outnumbered. Even if he helped them, he wouldn't be able to stand against them alone afterward.

The Golden Crow Prince swallowed hard, nervously watching Zu An and his companions. He had developed a shadow of fear regarding Zu An. Although he kept telling himself his cultivation was superior, two devastating defeats combined with no longer possessing a divine artifact meant his confidence in defeating him was rapidly diminishing.

What's more, those women were not to be underestimated either.

"Do you really think you can take advantage of my situation? Unfortunately, you're a bit late." At that moment, the Demon Emperor stood up. The hole in his right chest had completely healed, and the immense pressure of a terrestrial immortal radiated from him. Aside from his disheveled appearance, he seemed entirely unharmed.

Seeing his injuries completely healed, Zu An and the others were greatly startled, their hearts sinking to rock bottom.

If only they had arrived sooner! Now that he had recovered, the situation was instantly reversed...

Various negative emotions welled up in their minds, and they all felt more or less vexed.

Zu An, however, had a thought. He smiled and put away his weapon. "Your Majesty, what are you talking about? We are all trapped in this unknown land together. Meeting again here is like encountering an old friend in a foreign place. We're too happy to even think about taking advantage of you."

The Demon Emperor was slightly taken aback, seemingly deep in thought, and did not react angrily.

Wu Liang almost choked on his saliva. "This guy's shamelessness has a bit of my style," he thought.

He immediately relaxed his body and dispelled any thoughts of acting.

The Golden Crow Prince urgently said, "Father, don't listen to him. This kid is just putting on an act because he saw you recovered. Let's seize this chance and take care of him together."

Hearing this, Yan Xuehen and the other two women immediately became vigilant, ready to strike at any moment.

The Golden Crow Prince frowned. "How have their injuries almost fully recovered after such a short time?" he wondered.

"How is that possible so quickly!"

"Did they have some extraordinary encounter?"

He withdrew his gaze from the three women and looked at Zu An. "How exactly did you undo the puppet curse?"

Zu An smiled faintly. "Of course, I have my ways."

His expression suggested, "Do you really think I'd tell you such a secret?"

As expected, the Demon Emperor did not press further. "Young man, I must say I admire you, especially for what you just said about meeting an old friend in a foreign land. This world is indeed quite strange. Since we both come from the same world, there's no need for internal strife. How about we cooperate to unravel the mysteries of this world?"

The Golden Crow Prince grew anxious and was about to speak, but his father stopped him with a gesture.

"That's exactly what I was thinking," Zu An replied without hesitation, agreeing immediately. At the same time, he gave the three women a meaningful look.

Having faced life and death together so many times, the group largely understood the meaning behind his gaze.

He was indeed agreeing to cooperate, but also warning everyone to remain cautious.

Cooperating with the Demon Emperor was akin to asking a tiger for its skin. Unfortunately, the Demon Emperor's injuries had already healed, and any further conflict would only result in mutual destruction.

The only thing they couldn't understand was why the Demon Emperor agreed, given that his cultivation was higher than theirs, and he also had the Golden Crow Prince and Wu Liang assisting him.

However, being exceptionally intelligent, they quickly realized that the Demon Emperor must have used some secret technique to rapidly recover his injuries upon seeing them arrive.

Although such a secret technique was quick, it certainly couldn't compare to a steady recovery and might even have serious side effects.

Furthermore, this secret realm was full of dangers, and he was unwilling to fight them, lest they all perish there.

Zu An's agreement was also understandable. On one hand, he genuinely needed the information the Demon Emperor and his group possessed. On the other hand, the Demon Emperor had hastily recovered his injuries, placing his combat strength at its peak. A decisive battle at this moment would undoubtedly come at a great cost, and over time, his combat strength would only decline.

Understanding all of this, they felt relieved.

At this point, Zu An seized the opportunity to ask, "Your Majesty, what exactly is this place?"

Before the Demon Emperor could answer, an excited voice suddenly rang out: "Haha, Qiongqi is dying! The Four Great Seals are about to be broken! I can almost sense my father's presence!"

Zu An focused his gaze and saw a blue-white, ghost-like entity dart out from the Demon Emperor's body. He was secretly astonished. It seemed the Demon Emperor had gained quite a lot from this trip. What exactly was this ghost?

Was the fierce beast on the ground the Qiongqi he spoke of? No wonder it was so extraordinary. What a pity it still fell to the Demon Emperor.

Also, what were these "Four Great Seals" he mentioned, and who was his father?

Zu An had too many questions at this moment, but he quickly noticed that although the ghostly entity was highly agitated and trying to emerge, a faint layer of golden light restrained it on its surface, clearly indicating it was under the Demon Emperor's control.

"Ugh~" At that moment, the fierce beast beside them let out a long sigh, then kicked its limbs and completely breathed its last.

Immediately afterward, Qiongqi's form began to dissipate, transforming into a ball of yellow light.

The Demon Emperor reached out, and a yellow gem flew from the ball of light into his hand.

Everyone present was highly cultivated, and with their sharp eyesight, they clearly noticed that the gem had some strange markings, resembling a miniature Qiongqi.

Zu An thought to himself, the ghost just mentioned four seals, so the Demon Emperor must have obtained four such gems, right?

"Why does it feel like I'm doing a hidden side quest, while the Demon Emperor is on the main quest?" he mused.

"This is the domain of Qiongqi, one of the Four Fierce Beasts. Earlier, we successively unsealed the domains of Taowu, Taotie, and Hundun. According to this fellow," the Demon Emperor said, idly toying with the soul of Danzhu in his hand as he looked at Zu An, "an ancient emperor named Yao is sealed here. I've told you this much; since we're cooperating, shouldn't you tell me what you've gained during this time?"

Just now, there were so many powerful auras on the other side, even a power that terrified him, which might be related to Zu An's group.

Although he didn't believe these individuals possessed the ability to participate in a conflict of that magnitude, by simply observing, they might have gathered some information he wasn't aware of.

Zu An was about to answer when suddenly, cracking sounds came from the ground.

Immediately afterward, the ground visibly cracked open, and then everyone's feet lost purchase, causing them all to fall into the fissure.

They were caught off guard. Even with the intense aftershocks of the previous battle, the surrounding cave had remained intact. Who would have thought that the ground would crack open only after the fight was over?