Chapter 1781: Sending Someone to the Slaughter

"You've misunderstood," Qiu Honglei said, glancing subtly at Zu An ahead. "She's the master of Ah Zu's wife, and there's nothing between them."

What a joke. Although there was an element of rivalry in the nickname "Ice Maiden" that her master gave Yan Xuehen, it was certainly apt.

Both the righteous path and the demonic cult factions agreed that she had an extremely cold temperament. For so many years, there had been no rumors of her showing interest in men; some even speculated she had become emotionless and devoid of desire from cultivating the "Dao of Supreme Forgetting."

How could such a woman possibly have romantic feelings?

Jing Teng was startled. "Oh, is she your master?"

"No, my master is someone else," Qiu Honglei replied, puzzled why she would ask such a question.

"But you just said she was Young Master Zu's wife's master?" Jing Teng asked, a look of confusion on her face.

Qiu Honglei gasped, then had to explain, "That was Ah Zu's other wife..."

Noticing the other person's strange look, she quickly added, "They've already divorced, so they're not related now."

A peculiar smile appeared on Jing Teng's face, and after a moment, she uttered four words: "Your circle is truly messy."

Qiu Honglei: "..."

To be honest, she also found it a bit messy. It was all because Ah Zu was such a playboy.

Rage points from Qiu Honglei +99+99+99...

Jing Teng, on the other hand, was thoughtful. Perhaps Qiu Honglei, being in the midst of it, didn't notice, but the reaction of the white-clad woman earlier was indeed a bit suspicious.

Zu An, who was ahead, explaining to Wei Suo that he might soon have a conflict with the Emperor, couldn't help but glance back when he saw the sudden surge of rage points. What were those two women talking about, and why were they angry again?

At this point, Wei Suo said with a bitter expression, "Boss, you're really something, going against the Emperor."

"I'm telling you this mainly so you can be mentally prepared. After all, this matter has huge implications, and you still have your family. It's too dangerous to be with me," Zu An reminded him.

Wei Suo then said earnestly, "Am I the kind of person who runs away when a friend is in trouble? Don't worry, I'll definitely stand by you, Boss."

Zu An frowned. "I recall your Wei family has always been pro-imperial. This might bring danger to your family."

"What family is there anymore? Our Wei family has long been in decline, or else why would I be drifting in the martial world?" Wei Suo said, a hint of fierce bravery appearing on his face. "This isn't the Great Zhou, it's a secret realm, and the Emperor doesn't know me. Besides, if we really managed to take down the Emperor, perhaps our Wei family could rise again."

Zu An chuckled. "I didn't expect you to be so adventurous. Alright, if that day ever comes, I definitely won't forget you."

Wei Suo also laughed. "It's still better to rely on a strong leader like you, Boss."

The group quietly approached the vicinity of the great tomb. "Vicinity" was a loose term, as they were still quite a distance from the outer perimeter.

The area closest to the entrance was occupied by the major powers of this world, followed by a layer of slightly smaller factions and families further out.

Even further out were scattered individuals and rogue cultivators, blocked by the major forces and cursing angrily.

Zu An and his group were right at the outermost edge, and unlike the people around them, they weren't in a hurry.

From what Jing Teng had implied earlier, being among the first to enter might not be a good thing.

Gazing at the multitude of people, a hint of doubt flickered across Zu An's face. Previous secret realms were often limited to a single scene; even if the world was vast, there weren't many living inhabitants.

Yet, everything before him indicated this was a living world, no different from that of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

Was this really a secret realm?

For a moment, he felt like Zhuangzi dreaming he was a butterfly.

Just as he was pondering, a strange runic pattern lit up, and winds and clouds surged across the heavens and earth. A rich spiritual energy gradually filled the air.

Everyone's heart skipped a beat. Such an anomaly in heaven and earth surely signaled a major event.

Sure enough, the great tomb suddenly began to tremble, and the destructive aura that had previously enveloped it gradually vanished without a trace.

Someone shouted, "The seal on the great tomb has been broken!"

Zhao Hao, being the strongest, naturally pushed open the tomb gate first and rushed inside.

He had initially thought about closing the tomb door to prevent outsiders from entering and interfering with any potential immortal opportunities.

But on second thought, there were many powerful individuals outside. If he kept everything for himself, he might incur widespread wrath.

Although he wasn't afraid of those people, dealing with them would be troublesome. It would be better to let them in. The great tomb was vast, and it certainly needed many people to act as cannon fodder and scout ahead.

As for anyone actually finding an immortal opportunity, he could simply snatch it from them.

So he no longer lingered and proceeded directly to explore inside.

Xuan Bajing and Li Changsheng's eyes also showed eagerness, and they quickly followed.

Following them, the people outside the great tomb surged forward, scrambling like fish being fed in a pond. If someone were to look down from above, they might even develop trypophobia.

Conflicts naturally arose in such circumstances. Everyone who came here was fierce and brave, and it was normal for arguments to escalate into bloody fights.

However, everyone knew that exploring the great tomb was more important now. Fighting over treasures would be understandable, but it seemed somewhat comical to be fighting to the death before even entering the gate.

Therefore, most conflicts were kept to a certain intensity, at most involving cordial greetings about each other's female ancestors for eighteen generations.

The scale of this ancient tomb was truly immense, capable of accommodating a surging crowd of tens of thousands of people.

Zu An and his group were not in a hurry; instead, they quietly remained on the periphery, observing.

After all, Zhao Hao was inside, and it was better not to encounter him.

He turned to look at Jing Teng. "Miss Jing, since your true form is within the great tomb, you must know a lot about it. Is there any shortcut to get inside?"

The situation ahead was even more crowded than a green-skinned train during Spring Festival travel in his previous life, and he really didn't want to squeeze through.

Jing Teng shook her head. "No, this great tomb is very peculiar; there's only one path."

Zu An: "..."

Qiu Honglei said with some dissatisfaction, "We're helping you, after all. Just tell us what you know instead of acting like a riddler here."

Jing Teng apologized, "It's not that I'm unwilling to speak. It's just that I suffered a great catastrophe back then, and I was merely a backup seed, saved as a precaution. I'm already thankful to heaven and earth that I could be reborn, but I've lost my former power, and my memories along with it."

Seeing this, the others found it difficult to say anything further.

Jing Teng said, "Don't worry, there's nothing wrong with letting them go in first."

Seeing her so certain, the group secretly nodded and waited there until even the outermost lone cultivators had entered. Only then did they leisurely set off.

By this time, the tomb entrance was wide open, and the previous congestion was gone.

From a distance, the dark tomb entrance looked like a gaping maw of an abyss, waiting to devour everything.

Upon reaching it, Zu An realized that the tomb entrance was ridiculously huge, dozens of *zhang* high and a hundred *zhang* wide. No wonder so many people had managed to squeeze inside earlier.

"I wonder what kind of being built such a magnificent tomb. Could it really be an ancient immortal?" Qiu Honglei couldn't help but exclaim.

They had initially speculated it might be an imperial mausoleum, but no human emperor could construct a tomb of such a scale.

Jing Teng shook her head. "Even Immortal Lord Baopu didn't seem to discover who built this tomb back then. Of course, it's possible he found something and didn't tell me, as I was merely a demonic creature he casually enlightened."

Sensing the self-pity in her tone, Qiu Honglei couldn't help but comfort her.

Just then, a cacophony of wails and howls erupted from ahead. Many who had just rushed into the great tomb were now fleeing as if they had seen something terrifying, with many even flying out through the air, indicating their cultivation levels were not low.

"What happened up ahead?" Wei Suo asked, stopping one person.

But the person's face was filled with terror, drained of all color, as if they had witnessed something dreadful.

Their mouth opened but no sound came out. Then, in a rush, they shoved Wei Suo aside.

Wei Suo, caught off guard, stumbled and nearly fell. Zu An quickly reached out and pulled him back, preventing him from being trampled into a pulp by the surging crowd.

Zu An led the group to a corner. Qiu Honglei cast a spell with both hands, and a wall of light quickly appeared around them, repelling the incoming people.

The Wall of Lamentation.

She hadn't expected it could be used this way.

Jing Teng closed her eyes, a hint of pleasure on her face. For some reason, bathed in this light, every cell in her body seemed to be cheering.

She couldn't help but feel a great liking for Qiu Honglei, thinking, *Perhaps I should keep her by my side and have her glow for me every day?*

Zu An, meanwhile, noticed that many of the fleeing people had bloodstains on them, and some even had broken limbs. He wondered what they had encountered in such a short time.

Jing Teng's voice rang out: "Back then, Immortal Lord Baopu, in his campaign to eliminate demons across the land, encountered too many powerful entities. Those monsters were difficult to kill directly, so he simply sealed them within this great tomb."

Everyone: "..."

No wonder she had remained so calm. With those terrifying monsters sealed inside, those who rushed in first were simply offering themselves up as sacrifices.