Chapter 1785: Ghost King Appears

Although he said that, Zhao Hao was somewhat surprised. That single finger attack, powerful enough to put even a Grandmaster in a difficult spot, had not caused the young man's body to instantly collapse. He had only spit up a little blood?

Zu An secretly rejoiced. His body, tempered multiple times by the Primordial Chaos Scripture, was incredibly resilient. Furthermore, Jing Teng's timely intervention had somewhat diminished the force of the attack, allowing him to successfully withstand it.

The troublesome aspect, however, was that the finger strike also contained a hint of spatial annihilation, which was continuously eroding his meridians. This prevented his vital energy from self-repairing and even showed a subtle tendency to further invade his body.

If any other practitioner had been struck by Zhao Hao's finger, a Master's body might have instantly disintegrated into a bloody mist. Even a Grandmaster would have been gradually consumed by this spatial collapse intent, eventually becoming a cripple. No wonder Zhao Hao didn't continue his assault; in his eyes, Zu An was probably already ruined.

Little did Zhao Hao know, Zu An had mastered numerous divine techniques!

With a moment's thought, he activated the "Gourmand Devouring Heaven Art" and, aided by the power of the Kunpeng, began to absorb the destructive energy that had infiltrated his body.

That wisp of destructive energy was indeed formidable; sensing the challenge, it immediately surged forward, attempting to completely obliterate him.

Unfortunately, both the "Gourmand Devouring Heaven Art" and the Kunpeng's abilities were supremely enigmatic entities. When combined, there was nothing that could not be absorbed.

The destructive energy quickly sensed something amiss and attempted to escape, but how could it evade that black-hole-like suction?

It was swiftly and completely devoured, transforming into the purest energy.

Zu An even felt his internal experience gauge increase by a significant amount, comparable to the effect of absorbing the two ghost generals earlier.

Zhao Hao was truly powerful; a mere wisp of vital energy casually dispatched could produce such terrifying results.

Naturally, on the surface, he displayed no signs of recovery, continuing to feign severe and intractable injuries from the destructive force.

To Zhao Hao, this was quite amusing. His destructive power, infused with his understanding of space, was something neither Zu An nor even the two Grandmasters beside him could dispel. Zu An was surely destined to become a cripple, yet he still dared to speak so defiantly.

Too lazy to waste words on a dying man, he turned directly to Jing Teng and said, "I've already shown you mercy. Now, you should demonstrate your sincerity, otherwise..."

He didn't finish his sentence, but the implied threat was clear.

Jing Teng hesitated, about to reveal some information to temporarily appease him, when Zu An, standing nearby, stopped her.

Zhao Hao's eyes narrowed. "Zu An, do you truly believe I won't kill you?"

Zu An offered a slight smile. "I just need to say a word to them. Once I'm finished, I won't prevent you from asking her anything. I'm already gravely injured; surely you're not worried we could still turn the tables, are you?"

Zhao Hao frowned but ultimately said nothing, tacitly permitting his actions.

This fool, does he truly believe I wouldn't be able to hear them at such close range?

Even if they used vital energy for sound transmission, with his understanding of space, he could hear them perfectly clearly if he chose to listen intently.

This was a perfect opportunity to see what they would discuss, especially whether Jing Teng would secretly reveal information to Zu An.

At that moment, Qiu Honglei and Wei Suo also approached. Zu An beckoned, signaling for everyone to draw closer.

The others, assuming he intended to conceal something from the emperor, gathered closer out of curiosity, eager to hear what he would say.

"When I yell 'run' later, everyone run in that direction together..." Zu An whispered.

From a distance, Zhao Hao wore a sneering expression. He had expected some brilliant stratagem from Zu An, but this was all it was?

Even Qiu Honglei was puzzled, wondering how they could possibly escape given the emperor's exceedingly high cultivation.

At that very moment, Zu An roared, "Run!"

Almost simultaneously, he seized Wei Suo, who was standing beside him, and flung him directly at Zhao Hao.

Caught completely off guard, Wei Suo was sent spinning through the air like a projectile.

Meanwhile, Zu An, gripping Qiu Honglei's hand with one and Jing Teng's with the other, sprinted rapidly into the distance.

"What a coward, attempting to buy time by sacrificing a friend's life?" Zhao Hao's tone was sarcastic as he swept a palm directly at Wei Suo. This single blow was sufficient to reduce him to a bloody mess, ensuring no time would be lost.

Even Jing Teng frowned deeply. She was grateful that Zu An hadn't betrayed her earlier and had even actively shielded her to save her.

But now he had betrayed another. Although Wei Suo was crude in appearance and his words and actions were irritating, he was still Zu An's friend.

To betray a friend without hesitation, simply to save his own life?

Qiu Honglei was similarly bewildered, but having been with Zu An for so long, she trusted his character and believed this action surely concealed some deeper purpose.

In that very instant, Zhao Hao's expression suddenly shifted, and he swiftly changed direction, sidestepping away.

Observing his movement, Li Changsheng and Xuan Bajing were utterly perplexed, wondering what the emperor was avoiding. Even if the opponent had hidden explosives or poison on Wei Suo, it couldn't possibly harm him.

Just then, a supremely dense black mist suddenly billowed from Wei Suo's body. Within the mist, countless grotesque skeletal heads shrieked silently. As the black mist appeared, the entire space was immediately engulfed by an intensely cold and malevolent aura.

Countless skeletal heads suddenly flew out from the black mist, rapidly tearing towards Zhao Hao.

Zhao Hao's body blazed with golden light, and he rapidly flicked his fingers, utterly shattering the assaulting skeletal heads.

Yet, he had just casually delivered a palm strike, treating Wei Suo as an insignificant ant. How could he have anticipated that the individual was actually such a terrifying entity?

Having lost the initiative, he ultimately couldn't block all of them. Several skeletal heads struck his body, and he was immediately contaminated by a dark aura.

Fortunately, he reacted promptly and dodged in advance, thus creating a sufficient safe distance.

He activated his profound technique, and his body radiated brilliant golden light, expelling all the dark energy that had infiltrated him.

Even so, he still spat out a mouthful of fresh blood, clearly having sustained a considerable injury from that attack.

Xuan Bajing and Li Changsheng were both stunned. What kind of being could injure Zhao Hao with a single strike?

It was well known that even on the Purple Mountain altar, despite numerous strategies and concerted attacks from many supreme experts on their side, he had never been put in such a disarray.

"The Ghost King?" Zhao Hao's expression was grim as he stared fixedly at his opponent. With such an appearance and such power, who else in the world could it be but the Ghost King?

The black mist and skeletal heads coalesced into a colossal ghostly face. He did not respond to Zhao Hao but instead looked towards Zu An. "How did you see through my disguise?"

Qiu Honglei's face broke into a smile, thinking, 'Ah Zu truly isn't that sort of person.'

So this is the Ghost King? He's truly hideous.

The thought that he had been accompanying their group all along sent a shiver down her spine.

Jing Teng also stared wide-eyed at the Ghost King, never imagining that the legendary being had been hidden right beside her.

However, despite facing such a terrifying entity, she secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Zu An had not betrayed his friend. 'Ah, to think Qiu Honglei trusted him so completely just now, while I harbored doubts. In that respect, I'm truly far inferior to her,' she mused.

'Wait, why am I comparing myself to her?'

She was also very curious as to how Zu An had figured it out.

Feeling a terrifying aura lock onto him, Zu An decided it was best not to continue running. He feared inadvertently drawing the opponent's full wrath upon himself, which would nullify all his efforts.

He sighed. "It's actually quite simple to discern. I know Wei Suo's true nature best; he's exactly as his name suggests, possessing a fundamental vulgarity. However, for the past few days, that essence has been notably absent. Although you tried your utmost to conceal it, you couldn't quite replicate that particular nuance."

Jing Teng and Qiu Honglei nodded in agreement. Wei Suo was indeed the sort of lecher who fantasized about intimate encounters with female ghosts, constantly drooling at the sight of beautiful women, his uncouth and crude demeanor undeniable.

In recent days, he had seemed increasingly normal. At the time, they had assumed he'd spent enough time with them and had developed some immunity to the charms of the two women.

Only Ah Zu, with his keen observation, immediately detected the anomaly.

"And that's how you knew I was impersonating him?" The Ghost King was clearly displeased with the answer. "You were so confident in throwing him out as a shield? What if you were wrong? Wouldn't you have harmed your friend?"

"Of course, it's not just that," Zu An replied, gazing at the ghostly face of black mist and skeletal heads in the air, simultaneously pondering the nature of this entity. "Wei Suo is extremely afraid of death—and I don't mean that as a criticism, it's simply his inherent nature. His first reaction to danger is to flee. Yet, earlier, outside the tomb, after seeing so many terrifying creatures, I told him to go first, but he insisted on entering with me, talking about enduring hardships together."

He shook his head. "The real Wei Suo would certainly have vanished at the first sign of trouble, all while cautioning me against taking risks. If he couldn't convince me, he would simply leave on his own, grandly claiming he didn't want to be a burden."

A faint smile touched Zu An's lips as he recalled his old friend's quirks.

"That's still too flimsy," the Ghost King said, shaking its head.

"The most compelling evidence emerged when we entered the grand tomb," Zu An explained, pausing. "He was nearly knocked down when the crowd surged, but I noticed that while he appeared to stumble, his footwork was exceptionally agile, allowing him to subtly evade several potentially fatal blows. So, when I helped him up, I took the opportunity to grasp his wrist, and I discovered he had no pulse!"