Chapter 856: Played It Wrong

Mi Li rolled her eyes. "Get lost. I've roamed the world; I don't need your help. Mind your own business."

Seeing she wasn't willing to talk much, Zu An knew further questions would be futile. He simply said, "Anyway, you need to know that no matter what, you're not alone. You have me."

Mi Li waved her hand. "Alright, alright, I get it. You're always nagging like an old woman."

Beside them, Bi Linglong watched with a strange expression. She felt that the relationship between these two was far from that of master and disciple; it was more like...

Never mind, how could that be? I must be overthinking things.

The group then continued on their journey. Bi Linglong occasionally looked back. "Ah Zu, I have a bad feeling. We delayed for so long back there; logically, the Emperor should have caught up to us by now, given his speed."

Hearing this, Mi Li said, "They were trapped by those immortal peach illusions. Perhaps they've all died there, so it's impossible for them to catch us."

"Immortal peach illusions?" Bi Linglong looked bewildered. She had seen those juicy, large immortal peaches with her own eyes; they were incredibly fragrant and clearly rare treasures.

"Of course they were illusions. Those ugly, skull-like fruits drain people's vital essence. If you eat them, you won't prolong your life; you might instantly turn into a pile of dry bones," Mi Li replied.

Bi Linglong's face turned pale. During their time together, she had come to deeply admire Mi Li's knowledge, so she naturally believed her words.

She recalled how she had been completely mesmerized by the appearance of those immortal peaches. If Zu An hadn't pulled her away, she would most likely have run to eat those poisonous fruits herself.

At this thought, she looked at Zu An with some surprise. This man was usually greedy and lustful, yet at critical moments, he managed to maintain his composure better than most. Which one was his true self?

Just then, Zu An spoke. "I believe that with the Emperor's cultivation and mental fortitude, even if he were momentarily captivated by those immortal peaches, he wouldn't be in any real danger. So, we can't hope those peaches will kill him."

Mi Li nodded in approval. "You are indeed cautious, boy. Very good. That's how you live longer."

After saying this, she yawned. "I've been out too long and I'm a bit tired. I'll go back to sleep for now. Call me if anything happens."

With that, she transformed into a wisp of smoke and vanished into his sword.

Bi Linglong's eyes widened. She looked up and down at the Tai'e Sword in Zu An's hand. "So your master usually hides in there?"

"Yes," Zu An replied, gently stroking the sword's body. "She is both my master and my friend. She's perhaps the person I trust most in this world."

It seemed that being in her soul form, Mi Li still suffered significant exhaustion from prolonged exposure. He definitely needed to create a new body for her. Last time, she mentioned a premonition about obtaining a certain medicinal herb; could it be that it would come true in this secret realm?

"Brat, don't just touch it anywhere!" Mi Li's displeased voice suddenly came from within the Tai'e Sword.

Zu An guiltily withdrew his hand. "I was touching the sword's body, not you."

"Anyway, don't touch it. You're too full of tricks; who knows what you're thinking," Mi Li snorted.

Zu An was speechless.

Bi Linglong couldn't help but let out a giggle. "Your master-disciple relationship truly is peculiar."

Zu An also couldn't help but smile. "It's certainly different from other master-disciple relationships."

Bi Linglong asked curiously, "How did you two meet? And how did she end up in your sword?"

What she really wanted to ask was if Mi Li knew about the things that had happened between her and Zu An, but she was too embarrassed to say it directly, so she resorted to hinting.

Zu An chuckled. "That's a long story..."

The two chatted as they went, and time flew by. After an unknown period of travel, they stopped at the edge of a cliff.

This was roughly the end of the first floating island. Looking up, the second floating island was hovering a hundred zhang away.

He tested it; short-distance leaps were fine from this spot, but longer-distance flight was clearly restricted.

He peered over the cliff edge. There were no miniature floating islands between the two main islands that could serve as stepping stones, unlike before.

"How are we supposed to get up there?" Zu An was quite vexed.

Just then, Bi Linglong's voice called out, "Ah Zu, come look at this!"

Zu An walked over at her call, seeing Bi Linglong bending down and pulling at weeds on the ground. He directly used his Blazing Phoenix Flame to burn away all the weeds, revealing a large array of stone slabs underneath.

"This is..." Zu An was surprised. The stone slabs were made of an extremely unusual material; their surface showed no trace of having just been burned by fire.

They were entirely dark and lustrous, like black jade, and seemed to shimmer with a faint glow, clearly indicating they were extraordinary items.

Some of the slabs had circular holes on their surface; it was unclear what used to be placed in them.

Many of the smaller slabs had fine lines etched on them, as if following some mysterious pattern, but it was hard to discern what it was at first glance.

Other slabs had various patterns, but these patterns appeared to be jumbled.

"A puzzle?" A glint appeared in Zu An's eyes.

"Oh, this seems to be a star chart." Mi Li had emerged from the Tai'e Sword at some point; Bi Linglong was startled, but Zu An was already accustomed to her sudden appearances and disappearances.

"A star chart?" Zu An quickly asked.

"Do you remember that inscription we found on the stele beneath the strange fish temple?" Mi Li asked.

"...Azure Dragon Mengzhang, Jia Yin on the left; White Tiger Jianbing, Jia Shen on the right; Vermillion Bird Lingguang, Jia Wu above; Black Tortoise Zhiming, Jia Zi below; the moon as the noble enters the center..." The lines flashed through Zu An's mind. He then looked at the large array of stone slabs and his eyes immediately lit up. "So that's it!"

Just as he was about to reach out and touch the stone slabs on the ground, Mi Li's expression suddenly changed. "Be careful, someone's coming."

After speaking, she had already turned completely transparent.

Zu An quickly turned his head to look. If it were an ordinary person, Mi Li would never be so wary; she would simply kill them to silence them. There was only one explanation for her reaction.

Sure enough, a burst of hearty laughter echoed. "I've searched high and low with no luck, but now I've found you without lifting a finger!"

The laughter made the nearby leaves rustle. Bi Linglong's face was pale, and she clutched Zu An's sleeve tightly. She stammered, "Ah Zu, if things become hopeless, let's jump off here. At least we'll die quickly."

Being from the imperial family, she knew the Emperor's malicious methods best. Given what had happened between them, falling into the Emperor's hands would undoubtedly be worse than death.

Zu An gently patted her hand. "Don't worry, it hasn't come to that yet."

Bi Linglong was taken aback. She couldn't understand why he could remain so calm now, but his tranquil words had an inexplicable calming effect, and her wildly beating heart gradually settled.

A bright yellow figure faintly appeared on the horizon, leaving a trail of afterimages. In almost the blink of an eye, he was standing before the two of them.

Zu An secretly sighed. The opponent's speed, even with the immense suppression in this area, was despair-inducing.

"Wish to be a fated pair?" Zhao Ruizhi said coldly, staring at Bi Linglong's hand tightly clutching Zu An's sleeve. Clearly, their recent conversation hadn't escaped his ears.

At such close range, he was confident that the lives and deaths of others were entirely at his whim.

"Is His Majesty planning to kill me?" Zu An sighed.

"Kill you?" Zhao Ruizhi sneered. "Dying like that would be far too easy for you. I will castrate you and bring you back to the palace, where you will clean latrines and empty night pots every day. Then, every year, I will amputate one part of your body, allowing you to fully experience the terror of awaiting death. Finally, when you have lost all your limbs and senses, I will immerse you in a cesspit, using ginseng and spiritual medicines to keep you alive daily, receiving the eunuchs' 'irrigation' in the latrine every day..."

Hearing his words, Bi Linglong's knuckles turned white. Several times she felt like vomiting. She regretted not dying sooner; now, even wanting to die was impossible.

Zu An was also speechless.

This son of a bitch is truly vicious. Could any human come up with such a perverted punishment?

Since it had come to this, there was no need for politeness. He said coldly, "It's a pity you can't treat me like that now. In fact, you'll have to beg me."

"I beg you?" Zhao Ruizhi burst into laughter, as if he had heard the greatest joke in the world.

Just then, He Li and the others, panting, caught up and heard Zu An's arrogant words. They all looked at him with sympathy, wondering if the fellow had been driven mad by fear.

Zhao Ruizhi abruptly stopped smiling and said coldly, "An absolute joke. I'll castrate you right now and see what you can do to me."

Just as Zu An was about to speak, the other party pressed a hand, and he immediately found it difficult to breathe, let alone speak.

"I know you're eloquent and might have some life-saving trick up your sleeve. I'm too lazy to listen to your nonsense," Zhao Ruizhi sneered.

Zu An was speechless.

Damn, I messed up!