Chapter 185: Wielding the Sword to Clear the Floating Clouds, All Lords Head West!

The woman, dressed in a black palace gown, lay serenely in a crystal coffin with her hands elegantly folded over her lower abdomen. A vibrant splash of red on her lips made her look enchanting and beautiful, subtly radiating a dangerous allure.

She possessed a flawless, exquisite face. Although one might expect her skin to be unnaturally pale after years in a sunless underground palace, there was no trace of it. Perhaps accentuated by the black palace gown, her exposed skin was fairer than milk, with the translucent glow of mutton-fat jade.

Her perfectly straight nose formed a graceful curve, while her rosy lips seemed to shimmer with an enticing luster. A delicate, rounded chin and a fair, slender neck added an irresistible charm and seductive allure to her radiant, captivating face.

Though he had never seen the black palace gown she wore, his initial thought was that it must be the Empress's phoenix robe. Made of black silk, it was embroidered with patterns of auspicious beasts in gold thread. Every stitch bespoke its preciousness and elegance, imbued with an inexplicable grandeur.

The gown was not form-fitting, even appearing somewhat loose, yet it subtly draped over her slender, tall figure, hinting at the captivating curves of the body beneath.

Her clothing was wrapped tightly, revealing only her hands and a small portion of her fair, delicate ankles, in addition to her head. What was more striking was the red circular band that bound each of her wrists and ankles.

He had originally expected a mummy or a skeletal old woman. Even if she retained a human form, he assumed she'd be a middle-aged woman, considering she was Fusu's mother, and Fusu was an adult when he died.

By that calculation, she would have been around thirty or forty years old when she was deposed, not to mention having been sealed here for thousands of years.

However, upon seeing her now, there was no trace of a middle-aged woman. At most, she seemed like a vibrant, elegant woman, and he could even faintly discern vestiges of her youthful self.

She looked unbelievably young, and astonishingly beautiful!

"Have you seen enough?" The woman in the crystal coffin suddenly opened her eyes and gazed at him coldly.

Zu An's heart trembled. While her closed eyes had previously conveyed an enchanting allure that stirred both pity and wild fantasies, the moment she opened them, her entire demeanor shifted instantly. Her phoenix eyes radiated an inexplicable majesty, and her aura became unapproachable, as if he were a mere commoner destined to prostrate himself at her feet.

"You're so beautiful, of course I haven't seen enough," Zu An remarked, leaning casually against the crystal coffin with one hand propping his chin, smiling playfully at her.

He strongly disliked the way she had just looked down on him, like an ant. *Even if you were an Empress,* he thought, *the Great Qin Dynasty fell ages ago. What's with the pretense of importance here?*

Mi Li was speechless.

She, too, was somewhat surprised. Other than Ying Zheng, which man had ever met her without being utterly terrified and barely daring to breathe?

Someone like him, who could still joke and flirt with her with such a cheeky smile, was truly an anomaly.

"Enough talk. Bring the contract for me to sign," Mi Li said, thinking, *I'll deal with this fellow properly once I'm free.*

"Oh," Zu An responded, concerned for Chu Chuyan's safety and unwilling to delay further. He pushed aside the lid of the crystal coffin, and a bone-chilling cold immediately assailed him, making him shiver involuntarily.

"It's so cold here. Lying like this for thousands of years must have been very difficult, right?" Zu An remarked, rubbing his shoulders.

"Difficult..." A fleeting look of bewilderment crossed Mi Li's eyes. It had been so long that she had forgotten such emotions, and now, to be shown concern by a young man, left her heart swirling with complex feelings.

She quickly masked her emotions and said coldly, "If you want to know, you can lie down and try it yourself."

"Can I really lie down?" Zu An asked with a look of feigned surprise. "The crystal coffin doesn't seem very spacious; it probably can't fit two people. If I lie down, I might end up pressing against you. Are you sure you don't mind?"

Mi Li was speechless.

Mi Li's Rage increased by 444!

She couldn't fathom why this fellow's mind worked in such an unusual way, daring to flirt with her.

"Do you know the consequences of flirting with me?" Mi Li's voice chilled, and a hint of severity entered her eyes.

"That's just a normal reaction to seeing someone so beautiful. It's your fault for being so stunning," Zu An said with a chuckle. "Besides, you're not going to kill me, are you?"

"Dying won't be that easy. I'll first gouge out your eyes and cut off your tongue," Mi Li stated, her voice laced with murderous intent.

"But aren't you about to sign a contract with me?" Zu An replied, completely unfazed. "Once we do, you won't be able to harm me."

Mi Li paused, taken aback. "You're relying on this contract to be so brazen?"

Zu An nodded. "Exactly. I need to test if your contract is reliable, don't I? If you're threatening to kill me over a few words, then after I save you, there'd be no guarantee at all, would there?"

Mi Li was speechless.

This fellow truly possessed a twisted logic, leaving her momentarily speechless and unable to refute him.

After a long pause, she grumpily scoffed, "I can't be bothered to waste any more words on you. Give me the contract to put my handprint on."

Zu An uttered a soft "Oh" and handed the prepared contract to her. Yet, she remained completely still, staring blankly at him.

"You can't move?"

"Of course not!"

Zu An offered an awkward smile. "Then let me help you." He reached out to take her hand and press it onto his bloodstains. The instant he touched her, an astonishing chill emanated from her, a coldness that penetrated to the very bone.

"Are you human or a ghost?" Zu An swallowed, unable to resist asking.

"What do you think?" Mi Li replied, looking at him with a half-smile.

After the initial bone-chilling cold, Zu An gradually felt the surprising elasticity of her hand. After squeezing it a few times, his gaze suddenly dropped to her chest. "Whether you are or not, I'll only know if I try," he mused.

He ultimately faltered under her murderous glare. As Zu An withdrew his hand, he grumbled defensively, "Well, it's your fault for not telling me when I asked."

He took her finger, dabbed it with a bit of blood, and pressed it onto the contract.

Mi Li was about to speak when she suddenly shivered, her gaze falling onto the bloodstains on his body, a thoughtful expression on her face.

Zu An, however, didn't notice. He let out a sigh of relief, tucked the contract into his bosom, and then looked up. "I just need to take down that sword, right?"

"Correct," Mi Li replied. "Be careful when you take it; don't accidentally drop it. I wouldn't want to be stabbed to death at the very last moment."

Zu An was a bit curious. "Since this sword can kill you, why didn't Ying Zheng just kill you back then instead of going to all the trouble of sealing you?"

Mi Li snorted coldly. "You ask too many questions. If you waste any more time, your wife will be dead beyond saving."

Thinking of Chu Chuyan, Zu An's heart skipped a beat. He dared not delay any longer. He leaped into the air on his tiptoes, grabbing the iron chain with one hand and slowly reaching for the hilt of the Tai'a Sword with the other.

The moment his hand touched the sword hilt, he felt a sudden jolt, and a blur flashed before his eyes. When he regained consciousness, he found himself no longer in the underground palace, but rather in a magnificent palace.

He found it impossible to describe the grandeur of the palace before him; in that instant, he felt utterly insignificant.

"You've arrived," a majestic, distant voice resounded just then.

He looked up to see a large dragon throne at the head of the hall. A man in black robes sat there, his back straight, his posture unlike that of an ordinary person, as if poised to devour anyone. At the same time, he exuded the aura of one capable of dominating the world.

Zu An watched in admiration. *Look at that presence,* he thought. *Just sitting there, he emanates such power. If only I could learn half of it—no, even just a fraction—I'd be the most captivating person on the street.*

"Who are you?" Zu An squinted, unable to discern the man's features through the swirling mist. However, he suddenly noticed a five-clawed golden dragon embroidered in gold thread on the black robe, and his heart gave a jolt. "Are you Qin Shi Huang?"

"Who I am is not important," the man in the dragon robe said, not answering the question directly. "What's important is that you have arrived."

Zu An swallowed, thinking, *What kind of cryptic game are you playing with me?*

*Oh no, he must know I'm about to rescue his Empress,* he thought. *Wait, I just flirted with Mi Li, didn't I? He must have seen it. I'm utterly doomed.*

The man in the dragon robe slowly stood up. Terrified, Zu An hastily retreated several paces. Unfortunately, the palace was unimaginably vast, and he scanned his surroundings frantically but found no exit.

"You needn't be afraid; I will not kill you." As if seeing through his distress, the man in the dragon robe spoke. "Being able to break the three seals of Heaven, Earth, and Man proves your exceptional ingenuity and profound good fortune, making you worthy of this task."

Zu An swallowed and hastily replied, "Um... this junior is too ignorant and shallow to live up to senior's high expectations. Perhaps senior should find someone else?"

The other person had spoken so solemnly, implying the task must be extremely difficult—perhaps another life-or-death situation. He certainly dared not take any more risks.

"Very well," the man in the dragon robe said slowly.

Zu An was stunned, not expecting him to be so agreeable. He quickly said, "Since that's the case, then this junior will take his leave." With that, he turned to depart.

Just then, a clear dragon's roar echoed, and the man in the dragon robe drew the sword from his waist. In that instant, a vast expanse of swirling clouds surged before Zu An, within which he could faintly discern thousands of soldiers and horses silently watching him.

He brandished his sword, dispersing the floating clouds, and all feudal lords converged from the west!

For some reason, this line of poetry appeared in Zu An's mind.

At that moment, the man in the dragon robe's cold, majestic voice resonated: "No one in the world can refuse me. There is only one outcome for refusal: death!"

Zu An hastily replied, "I was just joking with you. Senior, please tell me what kind of task it is. Even if it means climbing a mountain of knives or plunging into a sea of fire, I will not flinch and will certainly complete it."

Suddenly, a dark object flew toward him. He instinctively caught it and then realized he was holding a precious sword. When he looked up again, he saw that the man in the dragon robe's hand was empty; it was the very sword he had just been wearing.

Upon closer inspection, the sword was none other than the Tai'a Sword!

"Take the Tai'a, find Xi Quanqu, and then you will naturally know what to do," the man in the dragon robe said slowly.