Chapter 876: Behind the Scenes Mastermind

After He Li roared, he instantly felt relieved. He wondered if it was an illusion, but he seemed to sense immense awe in the eyes of the Emperor and Zu An.

He was a peak ninth-rank master; anywhere in the world, he would be highly respected. Even in the capital, a place teeming with experts, he commanded significant influence. Yet, this formidable man had been overshadowed by these two "great gods" for days, making him feel like a timid nobody. Only now did he regain his usual dignity.

He glanced at the timid Bi Linglong not far away. Her hair might be a bit white, but her face was genuinely beautiful, and her current fragile appearance was even more feminine than her usual haughty demeanor. The other men were dead, but this great beauty had to be kept alive. Once they left the secret realm, he would change his name, find a remote mountain to hide in, and no one would ever find him. If all else failed, couldn't he just stay in this secret realm and have children with the Crown Princess? What would he name the child? Well, that would depend on whether it was a boy or a girl... In that instant, he had thought of many things. Thinking of the stunning Crown Princess, he suddenly wasn't so afraid of the Emperor anymore.

The blade in his hand slashed directly towards Zhao Ruizhi's neck. Just then, a sharp gleam flashed in Zhao Ruizhi's eyes. His previously still hand suddenly shot up and tapped He Li's forehead. He Li trembled all over, then his body went limp and collapsed to the ground. A bloody mark slowly spread from his brow. His eyes were wide open, seemingly filled with confusion and bewilderment, but eventually, they faded into darkness.

Zhao Ruizhi slowly stood up. "Hmph, did you really think I was begging you with all those words? I was merely buying time." The two Qiwang Residence death-sworn guards, who had also been stirring, were startled. They quickly knelt and prostrated themselves. "Your Majesty's divine power is unparalleled! Long live, long live, long long live!" Zhao Ruizhi chuckled, then abruptly turned to Zu An. "Now it's your turn."

Zu An fell silent. He had just recovered some combat strength, but he hadn't expected the other party to recover even faster. His previous disheveled state had been achieved with great effort, exhausting all his means. If he tried it again, the Emperor wasn't a fool; there was no way he would fall for it a second time. Thinking of this, he couldn't help but feel despair. The Emperor was simply too powerful. Whether it was the "Stare of Conception," the "Immortal-Slaying Flying Dagger," or "Ice Heart and Snow Soul," any one of these would be devastating for a top master, yet he had been hit by all three simultaneously and still recovered. No one noticed that the blood he had shed from battle injuries, starting not long ago, had been silently absorbed by the ground.

At this moment, Zhao Ruizhi walked toward him step by step, seemingly wanting him to fully experience the terror before death. To his disappointment, however, Zu An's gaze was exceptionally calm, and even Bi Linglong showed little fear, as if they had both come to terms with life and death. Not only that, but the two even gazed deeply into each other's eyes. Were they acting as if he didn't exist? It seemed smoke was practically rising from Zhao Ruizhi's head. Rage points from Zhao Hao +777 +777 +777... He decided to tear out Zu An's tongue first, watching him howl in pain and Bi Linglong's expression of terror and regret.

Just then, a rumbling sound suddenly came from the ground, causing even Zhao Ruizhi to lose his footing slightly. He frowned, looking at his feet, and saw the entire ground beginning to split apart, gradually revealing a winding, large crack in the middle. The two sections of ground also gradually began to take on different colors: one becoming increasingly white, the other increasingly black.

Zu An looked at the ground, and a thought suddenly struck him: "Isn't that the pattern of a Tai Chi yin-yang symbol?" Mi Li's face first showed confusion, then drastically changed. "This isn't the Five Elements Formation; it's the Five Elements Yin-Yang Formation!" Zu An was about to ask what the difference was when another change occurred in the arena. As the ground split open, gurgling underground spring water surged out. Crucially, the water was red, as if blood was flowing, and combined with the surrounding altar environment, it appeared incredibly eerie. Even Zhao Ruizhi stopped, his expression grave as he watched this scene.

"Pure Yang Blood, Pure Yin Body... How many years has it been? They are finally gathered." A muffled, rumbling voice suddenly sounded, coming from all directions, making it impossible to discern who was speaking. Zhao Ruizhi's pupils constricted slightly, for he found that his spiritual energy couldn't lock onto the speaker's location. This was an absurd situation; since achieving his divine power, who could escape his energy lock?

"Pure Yang Blood?" Mi Li muttered these words, then looked at the Tai Chi yin-yang symbol on the ground and suddenly understood. "So that's it!" At this moment, the pool of blood on the ground suddenly began to churn, like boiling water. Immediately after, a surge of blood rose up, slowly solidifying into a human form, though it was quite crude overall, with only faint outlines of facial features visible.

Seeing this bizarre transformation, everyone present couldn't help but blanch. The two Qiwang Residence warriors closest to the blood figure turned and ran, wanting to put distance between themselves and it. However, the blood figure raised a hand, its arm suddenly extending incredibly long, grasping both men by the back of their necks and pulling them back.

"Your Majesty, help..." The two Qiwang warriors were by no means mediocre; especially having survived until now, they were outstanding among their peers in all aspects. Yet, caught by the blood figure, they had no power to resist and could only look at Zhao Ruizhi with pleading eyes. Zhao Ruizhi was unmoved. They were merely cannon fodder; who would bother to save them? However, his brow furrowed deeper and deeper, as he seemed to sense a threat emanating from this blood-red monster. One second, the two Qiwang Residence warriors were still begging; the next, their entire bodies shriveled at a visible rate, until only skin and bones remained, turning them into two gruesome mummified corpses.

Seeing this scene, Bi Linglong instinctively turned her head away; it was too horrific. Zu An's eyelids twitched. This scene reminded him of Mosquito Daoist from back then; truly not a pleasant memory.

At this point, the blood figure also began to change. It tossed the two mummified corpses aside, then its body started to contort. Following this, its facial features became clearer, and one could even discern its appearance. Unfortunately, its form was still a flowing mass of blood, making it unclear what kind of monster it was.

"Xu Fu, how can it be you?" Mi Li, who had been staring at it, was both shocked and enraged. The blood figure slowly opened its eyes and looked at her. "Empress, long time no see."

Zu An felt his scalp tingle. This blood figure was actually Xu Fu? Xu Fu, who sought the elixir of immortality for Qin Shi Huang! To be honest, he had always assumed that the mastermind behind this grand formation was Qin Shi Huang, and he had been worried about him emerging. But now, someone else had appeared?

Zhao Ruizhi was utterly confused, wondering who Xu Fu was and why he called this woman "Empress." He remained outwardly calm, intending to listen first. At the same time, he secretly regulated the elemental energy within his body. This blood-red monster gave him an inexplicable pressure, and he needed to recover his condition as quickly as possible. The sharp pain in his stomach had almost vanished, leaving only some lingering discomfort that was still within his tolerance. The "Ice Heart and Snow Soul" poison that had afflicted him was now being forced into his hands. In a few more breaths, he would be able to completely expel the poison. The most troublesome injury was that caused by the "Immortal-Slaying Flying Dagger." Because he was a fragmented soul possessing the Crown Prince's body, his soul and body weren't perfectly aligned like a normal person's. To make matters worse, that dagger specifically targeted the soul. It couldn't heal anytime soon; he could only temporarily suppress it and then slowly recuperate later.

"How can it be you? Where is Ying Zheng?" Mi Li stared intently at the blood figure, clearly sharing Zu An's confusion.

"Isn't Ying Zheng lying over there?" Xu Fu casually pointed to a nearby coffin, a hint of mockery in his voice. "Empress, please calm down. Let me deal with this nuisance first." No sooner had he finished speaking than he transformed into a streak of bloody light and lunged at Zhao Ruizhi.

Zhao Ruizhi, having endured mountains of corpses and seas of blood to become the strongest in the world, possessed incredible combat experience and was already prepared. A flash of golden light sent the opponent reeling back, but he also felt his own blood and energy churning. He knew that in his current condition, he might not be able to defeat this monster. He decided to temporarily retreat, find a place to recover from his injuries, and then return.

Just as he was about to leave, his body suddenly felt heavy. He looked down and saw that a lot of blood had unknowingly seeped from the cracks in the floor. The blood writhed like countless arms, tightly coiling around him. Zhao Ruizhi let out a cold snort, and a flash of golden light dispersed all the blood arms. But by then, Xu Fu had already lunged from the other side. Xu Fu did not maintain his human form as before. Halfway through his charge, his entire body transformed into a mist of blood. Immediately after, the blood coalesced into a giant octopus, its countless tentacles tightly coiling around Zhao Ruizhi from head to toe.