Chapter 846: West Dog Hill

Zu'an paused, then said with a chuckle, "Then I'm very unlikely to die. Life is so wonderful, and I have so many female confidantes waiting for me. I haven't lived enough yet."

Mi Li was speechless.

She stared at him quietly, then finally laughed and chided, "That's typical of you."

Zu'an couldn't help but ask, "Empress Teacher, what's wrong with you? Since entering the secret realm, you've seemed a bit strange—distracted, wanting to take on a disciple, and now saying such inexplicable things."

Mi Li shook her head. "It's not the right time yet. You'll know when the time comes."

Zu'an wanted to ask more, but Mi Li grew impatient. "Are you done or not? We're getting closer to the floating islands up there. Are you going to set off or not?"

"Set off?" Zu'an looked at the rising and falling small floating islands around them with a troubled expression. "But we can't possibly try each one individually."

"Who said we're going to try? Do they really think brute force will work?" Mi Li scoffed, her tone full of disdain.

As if to confirm her words, moments after she spoke, several screams erupted from that side. Many of Prince Qi's elite guards suddenly stepped into thin air and fell. Even with the Emperor's power, there wasn't enough time to save so many, and ultimately, two guards plunged down.

A commotion arose over there. Zu'an looked into the distance and saw many people from Prince Qi's mansion stuck at certain points, unable to advance further despite trying various routes.

They were all as anxious as ants on a hot pan. Some were scared by their falling comrades and eager to retreat, while others pondered the patterns of the floating islands. It was quite a lively scene.

"Let's go," Mi Li said, pausing before adding, "Later, no matter where I tell you to go, you must act immediately. Do you understand? There can't be even a moment of hesitation."

"Alright, alright, I get it," Zu'an replied, then took Bi Linglong's hand. "Let's go too."

Bi Linglong hesitated. "So many of them haven't succeeded, and it's just the two of us..."

Zu'an said firmly, "Trust me!"

Mi Li, standing nearby, rolled her eyes repeatedly. This brat constantly used what she taught him to flirt with girls, which really annoyed her.

Seeing the calmness in his eyes, Bi Linglong gently bit her lip, murmured an affirmative, and squeezed his hand, walking forward with him.

On the other side, Zhao Ruizhi was getting a headache from the chaos among his subordinates. Noticing the change on Zu'an's side out of the corner of his eye, and seeing the two of them preparing to try, he secretly sneered. He had observed for a long time that the patterns of the miniature floating islands rising and falling were different on both sides. That boy trying to imitate the path they had tried earlier would simply be courting death.

Imagining him stepping into thin air, Zhao Ruizhi's lips curled into a slight smile. This hateful brat was finally going to die.

However, when his gaze fell upon Bi Linglong's hand intertwined with Zu'an's, his newfound pleasure vanished like smoke.

Having been emperor for so many years, he had seen all kinds of beauties and naturally harbored no romantic feelings for Bi Linglong. Yet, in a sense, Bi Linglong was his woman, his exclusive property; only he in the entire world was permitted to touch her.

Now, to see another man so intimately close to her right in front of him, the unique possessiveness of a man made his heart burn with jealousy.

Rage points from Zhao Hao +365 +365 +365...

Upon receiving his rage points, Zu'an reached out, wrapped an arm around Bi Linglong's slender waist, and pulled her close into his embrace, then provocatively glanced in Zhao Ruizhi's direction.

Zhao Hao was practically exploding with rage, but he merely turned his face away, expressionless.

Bi Linglong's face flushed slightly. How could she not understand Zu'an's intentions at that moment? Normally, she would have been furious, but recalling that they could die at any moment, she let out a soft sigh and allowed him.

She didn't know that another woman was already scolding Zu'an on her behalf.

Mi Li said with a cold face, "Put away your silly thoughts and focus on listening to how to proceed. If we take a single wrong step, we'll be doomed forever."

"Understood!" Zu'an didn't dare to be careless and listened intently.

"Gui Mei moves towards Wu Wang, Wu Wang towards Da You, Da You towards Tong Ren..." Mi Li's voice slowly began.

"Stop, stop, stop!" Zu'an quickly interrupted. "Speak in plain language."

Mi Li was speechless.

Seeing Mi Li about to explode with anger, Zu'an quickly explained, "I know the movement techniques you taught me before had similar incantations, but I'm really not familiar with these Bagua directions. Every time, I have to spend time in my head figuring out which direction is which. Didn't you just say we couldn't waste even a moment, or one wrong step would doom us forever? So, wouldn't it be safer if you just told me 'forward, backward, left, or right'?"

Mi Li stared at him for a long time, then finally let out a deep breath. "Another time, I would beat you senseless."

Despite this, she changed her way of speaking and directly instructed Zu'an on forward, backward, left, and right.

Soon, Zu'an and Bi Linglong were moving continuously across the various floating islands. Sometimes they would press straight ahead, stepping on several miniature islands in a row. Other times, they would take a wide detour to return to their starting point. And sometimes, they would take three steps forward and two steps back...

Bi Linglong was initially quite apprehensive, worried she would fall like the people from Prince Qi's mansion. But each time, Zu'an managed to guide her to land steadily on the correct spot. She couldn't help but look up at the man beside her; he was becoming increasingly mysterious.

As a gentle breeze blew, Zu'an seemed to walk among the clouds like an immortal, his whole demeanor exceptionally graceful and serene.

As she watched, Bi Linglong's face flushed slightly.

Meanwhile, the people on the other side noticed their situation. Zhao Ruizhi had been waiting to see Zu'an fall, but to his surprise, he moved as if on flat ground the entire way.

Initially quite angry, he quickly suppressed those useless emotions and then carefully observed Zu'an's footwork.

"Hmm, it seems to be movement based on the Five Elements and Bagua..." Zhao Ruizhi fell into deep thought.

Although the rising and falling patterns of the floating islands on both sides were not exactly the same, with his knowledge and intellect, it would not be difficult to find the corresponding solution given this hint.

"But that's not right," Zhao Ruizhi immediately realized. "According to their path, they'll soon run out of a way forward."

Meanwhile, Zu'an soon faced a crucial decision.

"Three steps to the left!" Mi Li's cold voice instructed.

Zu'an's heart skipped a beat because there was nothing there, just the dangerous red mist below.

He was wondering if she had made a mistake when Mi Li's urgent voice came again: "Quick, no time!"

Zu'an's mind raced. He suddenly remembered that Mi Li had specifically asked him earlier if he would be willing to die.

Although he had answered no at the time, at this very moment, he suddenly understood why she had asked that.

Almost simultaneously, he took three steps to the left.

Bi Linglong gasped, clinging tightly to Zu'an, even wanting to stop him from courting death. But her strength was no match for his; instead, she was pulled along by him.

Just as she closed her eyes, bracing for death, she was suddenly surprised to find that they weren't falling. Instead, they were standing firmly in mid-air. No, she could feel solid ground beneath her feet.

This was... a transparent floating island?

She quickly realized, then looked at Zu'an with surprise and delight. How had he known?

From a distance, Zhao Ruizhi's pupils constricted slightly, and then his expression cleared with understanding. "So that's it, so that's it!"

He even felt a flicker of admiration for Zu'an. This fellow was indeed talented, but unfortunately, he had a rebellious streak and couldn't be used by him.

At this moment, Zu'an, who appeared unfathomable to others, was showering Mi Li with fervent praise in his mind: "Empress Teacher, you truly are the eternal deity... You are the electricity, you are the light, you are the eternal legend..."

Hearing his overly gushing flattery, Mi Li felt a shiver of disgust. "Alright, alright, keep moving forward."

Despite this, the slight upward curve of her lips betrayed her current cheerful mood. This wasn't due to the flattery, but because, in that critical moment, he had chosen to trust her implicitly.

Thus, guided by her, Zu'an ascended step by step, and before long, he set foot on the nearest immortal island.

"It's so beautiful here!" Bi Linglong exclaimed, her voice filled with delight. Unlike the area below, which was constantly shrouded in the aura of death, this place boasted verdant grass, the singing of birds, the fragrance of flowers, and everywhere was wreathed in mystical mist. In the distance, golden palaces and white jade pillars gleamed magnificently under the sunlight, truly resembling a fairyland on earth.

Looking closely at such a fairyland scene, which previously only existed in TV shows and games, Zu'an couldn't help but ask Mi Li, "Empress Teacher, are there really immortals in this world?"

Mi Li floated nearby, gazing up at the magnificent golden palace in the distance, a strange sadness in her eyes. "The universe is vast; who dares to say there are no immortals? But what you see before you now is merely an illusion."

"An illusion?" Zu'an was puzzled.

"Do you know where this is?" Mi Li asked.

"Isn't it a new secret realm? It looks a bit like some immortal mountains from myths," Zu'an ventured.

Mi Li shook her head. "This is the ancestral land of the Qin people, Xi Quanqiu."