Chapter 837: World's End

Feeling the emperor's surging anger, Zu'an's heart sank, knowing that the emperor's patience with him had reached its limit.

He quickly went through all the methods he knew in his mind, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't escape death in the end; the only difference would be whether he died sooner or later.

Thinking of this, he tightened his arm around Bi Linglong's slender waist, pulling her tightly against him, perhaps to die with a little more dignity?

Bi Linglong was startled at first, but being exceptionally clever, she immediately understood his intention.

A blush instantly spread across her pretty face. Her dress was already thin, and with their bodies pressed closely together, she could almost clearly feel the warmth of his skin.

The incident at the Hundred Flowers Palace involuntarily flashed in her mind, the image of them embracing, unclothed. A shiver ran deep through her soul, leaving half her body tingling.

She looked up at Zhao Ruizhi in the distance. If he were still Zhao Ruizhi himself, she probably wouldn't have allowed Zu'an to embrace her so intimately, for despite his foolishness, he was still her rightful husband.

Her upbringing as a noblewoman had instilled in her a sense of propriety that prevented her from embracing another man in front of her husband.

But the current Zhao Ruizhi was not the true Zhao Ruizhi; in a sense, her husband was already dead, and the murderer was this person who had taken over her husband's body.

Moreover, the emperor had intended to silence her from the beginning. Thinking of the emperor's power, despair filled her heart. Let alone avenging her husband, she couldn't even manage to simply stay alive.

In her despair, many of her usual inhibitions and taboos broke down. Since they were all going to die anyway, she might as well provoke that person before she died.

Thinking this, she not only didn't resist, but instead nestled seductively into Zu'an's embrace, like a small bird seeking shelter.

Zu'an was momentarily stunned, never expecting her to be so cooperative. He smiled knowingly, and tightened his arm around her waist even more.

Not far away, He Li witnessed this scene, his scalp tingling from the couple's display. Although he had previously claimed they had an illicit affair, that had merely been a psychological tactic. Over the years, he had come to understand the Crown Princess's character well; everyone in the capital's circles knew she was renowned for her arrogance and dignity, so he had never truly considered the possibility.

Who would have thought these two actually had something going on!

The key was, they were being so intimate right in front of the Emperor. Were they trying to court disaster?

He noticed the Emperor's ashen face, and quickly shuffled sideways, fearing he'd be caught in the crossfire.

Zhao Ruizhi glared at the two of them with a dark expression. "Very good," he said. "You have successfully incurred my wrath."

With a wave of his hand, a golden ray of light shot between them, clearly intending to separate them.

Given Bi Linglong's cultivation level, she couldn't react in time, and could only watch helplessly as the golden ray drew closer.

Normally, even with Zu'an's vastly improved cultivation, he would have been suffocated by the opponent's domain, and likewise unable to react.

However, with the two secret realms merging, the elemental energies of heaven and earth were in extreme chaos, disrupting his domain, and preventing him from fully suppressing Zu'an.

Zu'an, holding Bi Linglong, instantly teleported aside using the Great Wind skill. But before he could even catch his breath, he saw the golden light, which had flown into the distance, suddenly reverse direction and fly back towards them.

He dared not delay, and quickly used Sunflower Phantasm, splitting into several figures that scattered in different directions.

Unsurprisingly, the golden light ignored the other illusory figures, pursuing him relentlessly like a persistent maggot.

"A guided missile?" Zu'an realized that no matter how he dodged, he couldn't shake it off.

"What missile?" Mi Li's voice echoed in his mind. "You've been locked onto by his divine sense; you naturally can't escape."

At the same time, Bi Linglong's voice rang out: "Don't worry about me. You'll be faster if you escape alone."

Mi Li was slightly surprised. "This woman actually has some heart," she mused.

Zu'an smiled. "How could I abandon you and escape alone?" he said. "At worst, we'll die together as a pair of fated lovers."

Bi Linglong's heart trembled. Men's grand vows usually meant little in ordinary times; it was only in moments of life and death that one could truly see a person's heart. Seeing that he was unwilling to abandon her even now, her eyes softened.

In the distance, Zhao Ruizhi's face was ashen. "Fated lovers?" he sneered. "When the time comes, I'll chop off all your limbs. Let's see how you'll be 'fated' then."

With a swipe of his hand, another golden ray appeared out of thin air and struck towards the two of them.

A single golden ray had already left Zu'an with no path to escape, whether to the sky or under the earth. Seeing another golden ray approaching, he quickly called out to Mi Li in his mind: "Empress... Master, what do we do now?"

Mi Li snorted coldly. "Weren't you just now displaying your affection with the Crown Princess, like a loving couple?" she scoffed. "And now you remember me?"

Zu'an knew she was likely sulking because he hadn't replied to her earlier. He quickly said, "Once we get through this, you can scold me or hit me all you want, I'll obey your command. But for now, saving our lives is paramount!"

He exerted all his strength, yet even so, several sections of his clothing were still scorched off by the golden light. What terrified him most was that the opponent's golden light had aimed for his 'little brother' several times. If he hadn't reacted quickly, he might have ended up castrated.

Normally, he was quite proud of himself in this regard, but now he realized that being 'big' also had its disadvantages; it made dodging more difficult.

Mi Li saw his predicament, secretly scoffed, and then quickly said, "You've been locked onto by his divine sense, there's no escaping. Furthermore, his golden light continuously absorbs the surrounding elemental energy of heaven and earth, becoming more powerful and faster the longer it persists. So your best option is to stop and take the hit directly."

"Take it directly?" Zu'an frowned, thinking that given the disparity in their cultivation levels, taking it head-on would be suicide.

However, seeing that the two golden lights had completely sealed off his escape routes, he had no time to think further. He immediately drew his sword, summoned the Snow Phoenix, and sent a sword qi made of ice and snow towards the two golden lights.

Without pausing, he simultaneously summoned the Fire Phoenix, unleashed the Blazing Blade skill, and sent a massive, scorching flame blade to attack alongside it.

Although the Azure Luan's sword qi was powerful, he didn't have a matching wood-element cultivation method, and the golden lights were too fast, leaving him no time to cast it.

In contrast, he possessed advanced combat techniques for both ice and fire elements. At this moment, he dared not hold back, unleashing them with full power.

He Li, watching from afar, stared in disbelief. This young man could actually use two elemental abilities simultaneously? It was simply defying common knowledge in the cultivation world.

No wonder he was so extraordinary at such a young age. If he continued to grow, how incredibly powerful would he become?

Alas, with the Emperor making a move, he was doomed.

What good was talent, no matter how great? It was far better to be like him, someone who knew how to adapt to the situation and be a discerning hero.

Zhao Ruizhi clearly saw the ice sword and fire blade, and his brow furrowed slightly.

This young man actually possessed such talent?

However, throughout history, there had been geniuses who cultivated two elemental abilities simultaneously. He wasn't particularly curious about it; instead, it only solidified his resolve to kill the opponent.

"Overestimating yourself!" he snorted. While the blade and sword were commendable, they were still insufficient to block his attack.

As expected, although the ice sword and flame blade appeared much larger than the two golden lights, they instantly melted and dissipated upon contact.

However, they weren't entirely useless; the two golden lights were noticeably dimmer than before.

Zu'an felt a surge of despair. Was the disparity really so vast?

"Bring out the Nine Cauldrons!" Mi Li's voice was also urgent.

Zu'an had no time to think carefully; he instinctively summoned the Nine Cauldrons to block in front of him.

Almost simultaneously, the two golden lights struck, directly hitting the Nine Cauldrons.

"Boom!"

A muffled, thunderous sound reverberated outwards. The Qi King's elite guards watching from afar clutched their ears, their faces pale. Those with lower cultivation levels even had blood trickling from their ears and noses.

Zu'an, being closest, also felt his vital energy churn uncomfortably. However, the two golden lights had already dissipated.

The verdant Nine Cauldrons hummed loudly in the air, bearing two shallow marks, and even a faint crack was visible, clearly from having just absorbed the two golden lights.

Zu'an felt a pang of heartache. Mi Li, however, said, "Don't worry, once you learn artifact crafting, you can restore it. Hmph, if the Nine Cauldrons weren't currently incomplete, the opponent's full-power attack wouldn't have caused it any damage at all."

"Oh?" At this moment, the Emperor also noticed the verdant small cauldron. It had actually withstood his hateful strike without being damaged, clearly indicating it was a supreme treasure.

In terms of artifact grade, it was at least Immortal-grade. No, more likely it was a legendary Divine-grade!

Given his cultivation and status, he didn't care about Immortal-grade artifacts, but if it was a legendary Divine-grade artifact, he was absolutely determined to acquire it.

He extended his hand, and an invisible giant hand reached out towards the verdant cauldron.

Zu'an's expression changed. Even before the giant hand reached it, he could already feel the Nine Cauldrons wanting to break free from his control.

Just then, a purple lightning bolt suddenly descended from the sky, landing directly on the invisible giant hand, and blasting the terrifying hand apart.

Zhao Ruizhi's pupils contracted. He abruptly looked up. Unbeknownst to him, the sky had completely changed color. A red crack sliced across the entire firmament, appearing like a massive eye.

At the same time, countless dazzling lightning bolts carrying a terrifying aura descended from the sky. The scene was like the end of the world!