Chapter 1788: Cooperation

Zuan fell silent. He realized that emperors and common people were indeed fundamentally different. When he had previously recounted the events of the secret realm, he had mixed nine parts truth with one part fiction, believing it to be a seamless lie. He hadn't anticipated that the emperor trusted no one. If suspicion fell upon you, the emperor would conclude you had done something without needing any reason or evidence, and would then act on the principle of "better to kill an innocent person than to let a guilty one go."

Ultimately, it was his own background—neither royal nor from a powerful aristocratic family—that caused him to misjudge the emperor's way of thinking.

Seeing his silence, Zhao Hao smiled. "You don't need to worry. The fact that I'm discussing this with you means I won't pursue this matter. Instead, I'm using it to demonstrate the sincerity of our cooperation."

Zhao Hao couldn't understand how Zuan, so weak back then, had managed to kill his soul clone. If Zuan could overcome so many power levels to do that, now that he was even stronger, he should possess methods to threaten the Ghost King.

Firstly, he could cooperate with Zuan to deal with the powerful Ghost King. Secondly, he could use the opportunity to uncover Zuan's hidden strengths, allowing him to be prepared for the future.

Zuan, meanwhile, sneered inwardly. Zhao Hao spoke with such earnestness, but only a fool would believe him.

Perhaps, intimidated by the Ghost King's power, he would temporarily cooperate, but given the chance, he would certainly settle accounts later.

Still, with the Ghost King posing such a threat, it was pointless for the two relatively weaker parties to fight each other to the death here.

So he brightened his face with a smile. "What are you saying, Your Majesty? I am naturally a subject of the court and inherently on the same side as you."

"Marquis Shen truly understands what is right." Zhao Hao sneered inwardly. And so, with each harboring their own ulterior motives, the two reached an agreement.

"Your Majesty just fought the Ghost King," Zuan asked, "Have you thought of a way to deal with him?"

Thinking of his recent discomfiture, Zhao Hao's face soured. "His Demonic Sound of the Ghost King has a powerful suppressive effect on my primordial spirit. However, if my primordial spirit doesn't leave my body, I cannot unleash my full combat power. Furthermore, I previously shattered many skulls and black mist, but they seemed to have no effect on him at all."

Zuan replied, "His immunity to physical and elemental attacks is indeed very troublesome."

"How could he be so impervious?" Zhao Hao frowned. "Where did you get that information?"

Zuan had nothing to hide at this point, so he roughly recounted how he had captured the ghost general.

Zhao Hao nodded. "Those ghost generals are his subordinates; their cultivation is too low. They probably see him through a biased lens, which inevitably leads to exaggeration."

"I don't actually believe that anyone can be immune to both physical and elemental attacks," Zuan said gravely. "However, Your Majesty fought him previously, and it seems this was indeed the case?"

Zhao Hao recalled, "That's right. My initial attacks seemed to have no effect on him at all, truly like physical and elemental immunity. That's why I thought of letting my primordial spirit leave my body to deal with him, but I never imagined his demonic soul-absorbing sound would be so formidable."

He paused, then continued, "However, everything in the world operates according to its own rules. It's impossible for any law to create an existence that is truly unsolvable. He must have a weakness; we just haven't found it yet."

Zuan nodded inwardly. Zhao Hao truly was a top-tier expert; he had grasped the crux of the problem instantly.

At that moment, Jing Teng's voice sounded faintly. "I think I've recovered a little more memory. It seems the Immortal Monarch left behind a method to deal with the Ghost King."

"What?" Zhao Hao's eyes lit up instantly. He thought to himself that his decision this time was indeed correct.

Besides knowing Zuan possessed some hidden strengths that he couldn't quite fathom, another part of his motivation was this mysterious woman. Her connection to this grand tomb was too intimate; perhaps the path to immortal destiny lay with her.

Qiu Honglei also breathed a sigh of relief. "What method? Please tell us quickly!"

At least now they wouldn't have to fight Zhao Hao to the death, and Zuan could get a moment to breathe.

Ideally, Zhao Hao and the Ghost King would both suffer severe losses...

Jing Teng replied, "That restriction is next to the Immortal Monarch's remains, towards..."

She turned her head, surveyed her surroundings, and then pointed in a dark direction. "Go this way."

With that, she began to lead the way, and Zuan and the others quickly followed. Zuan wondered, "Don't people say the Immortal Monarch ascended to immortality back then? Why are there still remains here?"

Zhao Hao's heart also tightened. If the Immortal Monarch Baopu hadn't actually ascended as legend claimed, but had merely died, and his disciples had then concocted the story of his ascension, that would be troublesome.

Jing Teng shook her head. "I don't know what happened. The remains might not be a real body; it could just be a cenotaph."

They couldn't figure anything out at the moment, so they decided to go to the site and investigate further.

Although the great tomb was dark, Qiu Honglei possessed light-based abilities and also had a palace lantern, which illuminated their path as the group continued deeper.

However, compared to the cheerful laughter that had accompanied them earlier, the atmosphere was now somewhat somber.

After all, with the formidable Zhao Hao by their side, a life-or-death battle could erupt at any moment.

As if to ease the awkwardness, Zhao Hao spoke up. "That looks like Sect Master Yun's Changxin Palace Lantern."

Qiu Honglei hummed in response. "It's not the original. Someone from the sect made a replica based on my master's, but its power is far inferior."

"The Demonic Sect certainly has a wealth of talented individuals, capable of even replicating the Changxin Palace Lantern," Zhao Hao said, his usual fierce aura completely absent, replaced by the benevolent demeanor of an elder. "I recall your master also entered this secret realm. Where is she now?"

Qiu Honglei glanced at Zuan before cautiously replying, "We got separated, but she should also be coming to the vicinity of this great tomb, unless something unexpected happened."

At the same time, her heart was filled with worry, thinking it would be terrible if her master accidentally encountered the Ghost King.

Zhao Hao nodded. He had originally intended to praise Yun Jianyue, but then he recalled how she had once infiltrated the imperial palace to assassinate him, only to be slapped away without even meeting him. Praising her now would feel utterly disingenuous.

Zuan guessed his thoughts. However, after Yun Jianyue experienced the Xia Dynasty secret realm, her cultivation had also advanced by leaps and bounds, making her far more powerful than before.

"Your Majesty, have you seen the Chancellor recently?"

Originally, the two had been entangled together and both fallen into this secret realm; theoretically, they should be nearby.

Zhao Hao shook his head, saying resentfully, "I haven't seen him at all. Who knows where he ended up or if he's dead."

If it weren't for the Chancellor's machinations, how would he have been dragged into this dangerous secret realm?

But then again, precisely because of this, he had the opportunity to encounter immortal destiny. Truly, fate was on his side.

Zuan fell into contemplation. Logically, given the Chancellor's cultivation, he shouldn't be an unknown figure even in this world.

"What exactly is this young lady's relationship with Immortal Monarch Baopu? And why does she know so much about this great tomb?" Zhao Hao asked, feigning casualness. His main reason for striking up a conversation just now was primarily his interest in Jing Teng.

"I was merely a vine in the mountains at the time. The Immortal Monarch happened to pass by one day and, in passing, enlightened me," Jing Teng replied, seeing no need to conceal this. After speaking, she looked at Zuan. "From what I just heard you say, it seems you are not from this world?"

Zuan hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "That's right, we were unintentionally drawn into this secret realm due to an accident..."

He then briefly explained the concept of a secret realm to her.

"A secret realm?" Jing Teng's eyes showed some confusion, but she quickly shook her head. "To me, this world is real, not merely a secret realm as you describe. Furthermore, perhaps to people in our world, your world might also be considered a secret realm."

The others were all startled. Previous secret realms were either sparsely populated or fragments of space left over from ancient times, giving everyone a natural sense of superiority when viewing them—they were merely seen as storage places for treasures, rare materials, and legacies. It had never occurred to them that a secret realm could also be a real world.

Zuan, however, found it easier to accept, as some of the secret realms he had previously visited already resembled vast, entirely new worlds.

Zhao Hao said gravely, "Historically, nothing like this has ever happened. Secret realms are either barren lands or, at most, contain some fierce beasts, and their spatial scope is limited. I have never heard of a secret realm of this immense size. The emergence of such a realm most likely signifies major changes in the world. Are there changes occurring in our world that I am unaware of...?"

Zuan fell into contemplation. Zhao Hao was the most powerful person in the world and the human emperor; if he said something hadn't happened before, it simply hadn't. Yet Zuan had encountered it several times recently, which proved that heaven and earth had indeed undergone changes. Could it be the spiritual energy resurgence often described in novels?

"Are you planning to leave this world afterward?" Jing Teng's voice asked.

Zuan looked up to find her large, beautiful eyes fixed on him.

For some reason, Zuan suddenly felt a pang of reluctance, but he still nodded. "That's right, once we complete certain tasks, we will return to our own world."

"Oh." Although Jing Teng said nothing more, anyone could discern the sense of loss in her expression.

Zhao Hao watched with a cold gaze, thinking, *Is this Zuan kid some kind of human aphrodisiac? How does he manage to attract women everywhere he goes?*

Letting him into the palace earlier might have been a colossal mistake...

Qiu Honglei's gaze flitted back and forth between the two, thinking, *Is my life easy? It's truly impossible to guard against everything.*

*Master Yan, it's not that I'm not trying hard enough; it's just that other women are far too proactive.*

Just as she was about to speak, Qiu Honglei suddenly sensed something amiss. "Do you all feel it's getting hotter?"