Chapter 165: Ha, Men!

Seeing the other person look at him, Shi Kun nearly wet himself with fear. He thought about his top-tier family background, how he was a recognized cultivation genius, and how he was handsome enough to make countless women infatuated—he had an infinitely bright future and a wonderfully exciting life.

Was he really going to die silently and without a trace in this dark corner?

A shiver ran down his spine, especially when he remembered how a tall, burly man from his subordinates had been sucked dry by the Black Armored General, leaving only an unrecognizable mass.

Just then, a green light appeared around Qiao Xueying. She then spat out a mouthful of blood, but successfully broke free from her restraints. She quickly ran to Shi Kun's side and swept her hand over his head, causing a green glow to spread from his head to cover his entire body.

That was the power of life, capable of resisting necromantic energy to a certain extent.

Qiao Xueying's face was pale, and blood seeped from the corner of her mouth; clearly, activating such power had cost her dearly.

"Young Master, run!" Qiao Xueying dared not delay, knowing it would still take a few seconds to fully unseal them, and even one or two seconds could be fatal in front of an expert. She grabbed Shi Kun's collar and ran towards the passageway.

"You're seeking death!" The Black Armored General hadn't expected such a development and roared in fury. With a flash of its figure, it charged towards the two.

Seeing the speed at which the opponent charged, a flicker of despair crossed Qiao Xueying's eyes. She clenched her teeth, and a look of determination flashed across her face. She knew they couldn't escape today's situation; it would be better to sacrifice herself to buy time for the Young Master to escape, hoping he could get away.

Her beautiful hair transformed into countless vines that lashed out at the Black Armored General. She was already at her limit, completely exhausted, and now she was burning her life essence to unleash this power.

She was also thinking of using her last two "Illusory Moon" abilities; although she might not be able to escape the Black Armored General's grasp, it should buy them a few breaths of time, which would give the Young Master a chance to escape.

Her only worry now was that the Young Master wouldn't make a decisive move and run immediately. If he were to stay and fight alongside her, insisting on mutual consideration, the delay would mean neither of them could escape.

Just then, a tremendous force came from behind her, sending her uncontrollably flying towards the Black Armored General.

All her attention and defenses were focused in front of her; her back was completely unguarded, which was why a single push sent her tumbling forward without resistance.

Qiao Xueying's mind went blank. There was only the Young Master behind her, so she didn't even need to think to know who had pushed her.

Still, she turned her head back unwillingly, hoping it was all just a misunderstanding on her part.

Shi Kun's desperate fleeing figure fell into her sight, finally plunging her into despair. So, in the Young Master's heart, she was merely a disposable pawn, ready to be used as a human shield at any moment...

The Black Armored General raised a hand and, almost instantly, clamped its fingers around her neck. Not only was she utterly unable to resist due to its oppressive aura, but even if she could, her heart was now utterly dead.

She closed her eyes, waiting to be sucked dry into a withered corpse.

To her surprise, after a long moment, there was no movement. She opened her eyes to look and saw the Black Armored General revealing a complex expression. Even though its face was obscured by a black mist, she could still sense its emotions.

"Another scene of betrayal, is it?" The Black Armored General sighed deeply, its voice filled with emotion. The sight before it seemed to stir memories from a very, very long time ago.

But then it suddenly snorted, "I, this general, despise people who betray their comrades the most in my life! Get back here!"

It raised its other hand, and a ball of black mist appeared in its palm, which rapidly spun and quickly transformed into a black hole, pointing remotely towards the passageway ahead.

Shi Kun was frantically fleeing through the passageway when suddenly, a gust of violent wind surged through it, and a powerful suction force came from behind him.

He immediately lost his footing and stumbled backward, tumbling several times. In a panic, he plunged his sword into the stone wall, barely managing to halt his momentum.

He was greatly alarmed. He himself cultivated wind-element techniques, yet in this fierce wind, he felt utterly powerless to resist. He could only grip his sword hilt tightly with both hands.

But the suction force from behind him was so immense that his entire body was lifted into the air. His hands, gripping the sword hilt, slowly slipped; one hand finally gave way and dropped. He quickly grabbed the nearby wall to regain his footing.

He knew that being sucked in would be certain death. He could only grit his teeth and endure; his fingernails were torn, bleeding profusely, but he couldn't care less about that now.

"Your will to survive is strong, but it's meaningless." The Black Armored General in the stone chamber snorted coldly, its five fingers slightly bent, ready to increase its power to pull the person back.

Suddenly, it stiffened and let out a roar of shock and fury, "Who dares to lay hands on my Traceless Illusion Lotus!"

It no longer bothered with Shi Kun. A black mist formed behind it, and it, riding a horse, plunged directly into it and vanished. Qiao Xueying, still in its grasp, was also taken with it, and there was no trace of her left in the entire room.

Shi Kun, who was desperately struggling in the passageway and feeling like he couldn't hold on any longer, saw a flicker of despair in his eyes, when suddenly, he felt the suction force from behind him vanish instantly. His body, suspended in mid-air, fell heavily to the ground, leaving him bruised and battered.

Even so, he was overjoyed. He didn't know what had happened behind him and dared not investigate. He scrambled out of the tomb, using both hands and feet, not even daring to linger near the entrance. He ran several miles away before finally feeling safe.

On the other side, Zu An picked the Traceless Illusion Lotus. As he tore off the petals one by one to feed her, his heart ached fiercely. "Wifey, do you know what I gave up for you?" he muttered. "If you're not good to me later, you're not human, damn it..."

"Heh, men~" The mysterious woman's sneer came from the void. "Your own wife's life hangs by a thread, yet you're still thinking about improving your own cultivation, somewhat reluctant to give it to her. If I were her, I'd feel completely disheartened."

"What the hell do you know!" Zu An cursed, but he couldn't be bothered to explain the reason to her. After all, having that part of him sealed wasn't exactly glorious.

"How dare you speak to me like that!" The woman's voice turned cold.

Rage points from Mi Li +314!

Zu An paused. "Is that the mysterious woman's name?" he wondered. He was surprised by such a strange surname; if he hadn't watched 'The Legend of Mi Yue' in his previous life, he wouldn't even know how to pronounce that character.

However, at this moment, he had no time to pay attention to her, because Chu Chuyan had fallen unconscious and couldn't swallow these petals at all.

Remembering that the mysterious woman had just reminded him that only sixty breaths of time remained, Zu An dared not hesitate any longer. He immediately chewed the petals into pulp and then transferred them to her mouth, mouth-to-mouth.

Chu Chuyan's lips were cold and soft. The chance to kiss her was something countless men dreamed of, but Zu An felt no enjoyment at all; his mind was entirely consumed by worry for her.

He dared not pause for a single moment throughout the process, transferring the Traceless Illusion Lotus petals into her mouth mouthful by mouthful. With every breath, he inhaled a rich, refreshing fragrance, unable to distinguish if it was the scent of the flower or Chu Chuyan's own fragrance.

After a while, Chu Chuyan slowly opened her eyes and quietly looked at him. He wasn't sure if her complexion had improved or what it was, but a faint blush inexplicably appeared on her face.

"You're awake?" Zu An was both surprised and delighted. His heart, which had been in his throat, finally settled.

"You... what are you doing?" Chu Chuyan glanced at the petals in his hand, then her gaze fell on the corner of his mouth.

Zu An felt a pang of awkwardness and quickly said, "I was just saving you; I wasn't trying to take advantage of you."

Chu Chuyan hummed in acknowledgment, "I know."

Feeling the atmosphere turn awkward, Zu An didn't know what to say. He instinctively chewed another petal into pulp and leaned in to feed her, but halfway through bending down, he froze.

She's awake now. It seems like she doesn't need to be fed like this anymore, right?

Chu Chuyan stared at him, wide-eyed. After a long moment, she unnaturally turned her head away. "I can do it myself now," she said.

Zu An knew well that since she was awake, she would definitely not accept mouth-to-mouth feeding. He could only hand the remaining petals to her mouth, saying, "Then eat it yourself."

He swallowed the Traceless Illusion Lotus petal that was in his mouth, wondering if the medicinal properties of a single petal could unseal him. Thinking this, he quickly took out the unsealing pill Ji Dengtu had refined for him and swallowed it.

He quickly closed his eyes to feel the changes in his body.

The moment the unsealing pill entered his mouth, he felt several streams of warmth rush directly down to his lower abdomen, accompanied by a cool sensation, which he assumed was the effect of the Traceless Illusion Lotus petal.

These warm currents, combined with the cool stream, caused many of his meridians to suddenly open up along the way. He felt as if the shackles on his entire body were being unlocked, one by one.

"It's working!"

Zu An's eyes lit up. He quickly focused his concentration, guiding the streams of energy to impact the meridians in his body.

At first, it advanced like a bamboo being split, but at the final critical moment, this mixed energy stream seemed to hit a thick, heavy door, unable to break through.

Each time it impacted, the energy stream weakened a bit, until eventually, he watched it disappear completely.

Sure enough, one petal wasn't enough!

Zu An felt like crying but had no tears. "Heavens above, earth below, why am I so damn unlucky!" he thought.

Of course, it wasn't without any benefits. He noticed that the fifth magic array was now filled. It should be noted that the fifth array theoretically required 377 vitality fruits, far more than any previous array.

Before, it took him a long time to fill one magic array, but now, a single petal had effortlessly filled it.

The rumors were indeed true; a single petal could elevate one's cultivation by a minor realm.

But what good was that? He still didn't have the ability he wanted most!

"What is this you gave me to eat?" Chu Chuyan's soft and pleasant voice came. Her heart had just been in chaos, and she had subconsciously swallowed the leaf he put to her mouth. The coolness from the Traceless Illusion Lotus petal and a strange, gentle power flowed through her entire body, instantly making her realize that this flower was extraordinary.

Even now, though her elemental meridians were still completely ruined, the injuries in her body were recovering at an incredibly exaggerated rate. She even had a faint feeling that if she slowly recuperated for a few more years, her broken meridians might even regrow.

Although by then all her cultivation would be gone and her movements still wouldn't be as flexible as an ordinary person's, it was still much better than lying paralyzed in bed for the rest of her life.

"It's a spiritual herb I stumbled upon by chance in this underground palace. I saw you were about to breathe your last, so I gave it to you." Zu An wasn't the type to do good deeds anonymously, but mentioning the Traceless Illusion Lotus now would inevitably sound like he was seeking praise. Moreover, he was so depressed that he didn't want to mention its name at all.

Zu An suddenly realized why he hadn't heard the mysterious woman's voice for a while.

Just then, an angry roar came from not far away: "Who dares to touch my Traceless Illusion Lotus!"