Chapter 834, (1): Emperor’s Trump Card

Unfortunately, Wei Pingyang’s yelling didn’t do anything. Instead, it only made Zu An more excited.

Wei Pingyang finally realized what was happening. He asked in a trembling voice, “Zu An, you didn’t die?”

Zu An sneered. “How could I afford to die when you’re not dead yet?”

“Impossible!” Wei Pingyang’s entire body shook in fear and shock. “You shouldn’t be alive after having your meridians destroyed by Lu Xiao’s flying sword!”

Forget about Zu An, not even the emperor or King Qi would be able to live if they let go of their defense and just let Lu Xiao’s sword strike them.

Zu An sighed. “Just because you had a life saving treasure, did you think I didn’t have one?”

He recalled how before he had entered this dungeon, Jiang Luofu had brought him to see Xie Daoyun in the academy’s rear mountain. Back then, Xie Daoyun had given him a Last Breath Talisman.

The talisman would block twenty percent of the damage when the user suffered a lethal attack. As for whether or not one could survive after blocking that twenty percent, that would depend on one’s luck. That was why it was called a Last Breath Talisman.

Fortunately, Zu An’s body was incredibly tough because of the Primordial Origin Sutra. After the damage was negated, the sword couldn’t fully destroy his heart. Even so, if someone had dove into the water to check his corpse, he would still have been dead. But thanks to Lu Xiao’s sense of urgency toward the crown prince and princess, his pursuers had left, giving him some time to catch his breath.

Furthermore, cultivators above the seventh rank naturally had powerful regeneration abilities; it was just that his current injuries were at a level that would need the better half of a year to heal from. However, the Primordial Origin Sutra’s healing ability was far greater than that of an ordinary cultivator, allowing him to recover seventy to eighty percent in a short amount of time. At the very least, he could fight again.

Wei Pingyang never could have predicted this. While his guard was down, he ended up being trapped by Zu An’s Heaven Devouring Sutra. When he heard what Zu An said, he felt despair. He knew he could no longer struggle free when he saw his own arms gradually shrivel up. However, a decisive look flashed through his eyes.

“Damn brat, even if I die, I won’t let you take advantage of me!” he exclaimed, using all of his remaining strength to destroy his blood vessels.

He was a master rank cultivator after all, an outstanding genius himself. He naturally knew some special methods. Furthermore, Zu An was seriously injured right now, so he couldn’t control the Heaven Devouring Sutra as well as he normally could. As such, Wei Pingyang successfully ended his own life.

Zu An let him go, a bit of admiration appearing in his eyes as he remarked, “He was a surprisingly decisive person.”

Back then, it was precisely because Mosquito Daoist had had a strong desire to live that she’d ended up not only failing to survive, but also donating all of her cultivation to Zu An.

Zu An had Blue Mallard, which allowed him to be underwater for as long as he wanted, so he wasn’t in a rush to leave the water at all. Instead, he inspected his own state first. His ki was abundant. Even though the wound in his chest still remained, he was starting to recover. His fighting strength was already back in peak form.

After Zu An checked himself, he discovered that eight of his ninth rank formations were already lit up. He was now only missing one last formation. He cried out pitifully. He had sucked out roughly half of Wei Pingyang’s cultivation; if he had sucked it completely dry, he might have already broken into the master rank.

“What the hell are you thinking?” Mi Li harrumphed. “Do you think it’s that easy to break through from the ninth rank into the master rank? It’s not something you can reach purely through accumulating ki.”

Zu An chuckled in embarrassment. “I was just kidding. By the way, why do I feel like the effects of absorbing other people are much worse than when I absorbed Old Mi’s cultivation?”

“But of course.” Mi Li explained, “Old Mi thought he could swallow you up, which was why he willingly poured his cultivation into you. Furthermore, he cultivated the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra as well, so his ki came from the same source as yours. It’s a no-brainer that the effects would be better than the Heaven Devouring Sutra.”

“So that was it.” Zu An nodded as he rushed out past the water’s surface. A whirlpool surged around him, and then he shot into the sky. He felt the ki inside of him rage. When he moved his arms, the water around him produced massive waves.

As he adjusted the energies inside of him, Zu An looked at his palm and happily said, “I feel like I can now win even if I fight against a master rank.”

“Don’t get overconfident.” Mi Li rolled her eyes. “You only have a chance now, and you won’t be as sorry as before. It wouldn’t be too bad if you fought someone who just reached the master rank, but if you fought veteran master rank cultivators, you would have a much greater chance of losing than winning.”

“Haha, that’s already enough,” Zu An said with a chuckle.

Mi Li didn’t retort against him. This guy was always winning from a disadvantageous position. He had managed to claw his way out of impossible situations time and time again. His real fighting abilities were indeed exceptional.

When she saw him look in the direction Bi Linglong and the others had left toward, she couldn’t help but ask, “You’re still going?”

Zu An nodded. “We’ve already made it this far. How can I give up now?”

Mi Li was starting to get a bit worried. “You’ve already gone far enough for that woman; you even almost threw your life away! Is that not enough yet? Even though your cultivation has risen a bit, Lu Xiao is a cultivator at the mid stage of the master rank. You can’t win against him!”

It wasn’t impossible for some geniuses to defeat opponents who were higher ranked than them, but the further they went, the greater the gaps in each stage in cultivation became, let alone entire cultivation ranks. Skipping cultivation ranks and winning was practically impossible.

Only a monster like Zu An with all sorts of ridiculous abilities could barely do it, but there was still a limit to that. The mid stage master rank Lu Xiao had already exceeded this limit.

Zu An looked at Mi Li and asked, “Tell me honestly. What are my odds of winning against Lu Xiao?”

Mi Li replied, “Twenty percent, thirty at most. That’s as much credit as I can give you.”

Zu An smiled. “That’s already enough. If we fight to the death, he’ll definitely be the one to die.”

Mi Li wanted to say something, but when she thought back to how this kid had dared to fight her when he was just around the fifth rank, she felt admiration. “As expected of the one I’ve taken a fancy to.”

When she had that thought, she didn’t try to dissuade him anymore and instead said, “Whatever. If you want to go, then just go. You have a heart that doesn’t fear a challenge. Even though this might very well cause you to die prematurely, if you’re allowed to grow up, then your future is limitless.”

Zu An said with a chuckle, “A rare instance of praise, I see.”

Mi Li rolled her eyes. “If you keep talking, that princess of yours might already be dead.”

Zu An didn’t want to waste any more time, so he quickly rushed into the mountains. With his current cultivation, he had also become capable of extended flight. He didn’t need to waste Grandgale’s skill to move quickly.

However, he quickly reached a fork in the road. He immediately understood that this was one of Bi Linglong’s tactics. While he was feeling a headache trying to decide which direction he should rush toward, he detected sudden waves of ki explosions in the forest.

“Lu Xiao?” Zu An exclaimed. He couldn’t be more familiar with the aura of the sword that had penetrated his chest. As such, he quickly rushed in that direction. As he drew near, he dropped from the sky and re-equipped the spice bag he had gotten from Concubine Bai. At the same time, he used Mirror Mirage to hide his own aura.

Even though he wasn’t scared of his opponent, he would be an idiot to charge at this guy head-on. The world of cultivators was incredibly harsh. Anyone who insisted on fighting like that wouldn’t live long.

If he wanted to win against someone stronger than him, he had to use strategy. As such, he quietly approached, planning to catch Lu Xiao unprepared and deliver him a surprise. He wanted to decide this battle as quickly as possible, because a prolonged battle would only be beneficial to the mid stage master rank Lu Xiao.

…

Meanwhile, several dozen zhang out, Piao Duandiao and Jiao Sigun weren’t doing well at all. They were covered in wounds, and only by leaning against their swords could they even barely stand upright. The other Eastern Palace guards had practically all collapsed on the ground, either already dead or close to it.

They stared at the man floating in the air. Even though one of his arms was missing, his aura was incredibly powerful. He looked at them as if he were a deity looking at ants.

“You all think you’re smart, but with a pig like Zhao Ruizhi, your footprints became a bit deeper than those of the others. As soon as I focused on that fact, I was easily able to find you,” Lu Xiao said with a smile, his tone relaxed and carefree. Seeing this mission that had been in the works for several years on the verge of completion put him in an exceptionally good mood.

“Outrageous! You dare treat the crown prince with disrespect?!” Piao Duandiao roared angrily.

“Look at the situation you’re in. You’re all still treating him like a crown prince?” Lu Xiao brushed the dust off of his clothes. He had been seriously wounded by Bi Linglong’s sword earlier, so he had already changed into a new set of clothes. “I have to admit that you all have quite the strong wills. You were actually able to hold on until now. However, everything ends here.”

As Lu Xiao’s voice lowered, an invisible wave of energy surged, smashing into the two guards. Piao Duandiao and Jiao Sigun flew away like kites with their strings cut. They smashed into a tree nearby, blood gushing out of their mouths. Then, they collapsed onto the ground and no longer moved.