Chapter 1201: Cracks

She had gone through so many things that she completely forgot about that. When she heard him mention the event and remembered how she had stood in front of him without a shred of cloth on, she immediately felt ashamed and resentful.

You have successfully trolled Yan Xuehen for +300 +300 +300…

The worst part was that he had even said that she had seen saw him too. Was I the only one who saw you?

So many people here saw!

And even if he had shown it to her alone, how could he call such a thing being ‘even’?

Zu An jumped in fright when he saw the Rage points. How did I end up pissing her off again?

Fortunately, Yun Jianyue broke him out of his predicament. She asked with a suspicious look, “What are you two mumbling about?”

“Nothing!” Yan Xuehen replied, scared that Zu An would absent-mindedly talk about that matter. If he did, how was she supposed to keep on living?

“Something’s definitely fishy,” Yun Jianyue said. However, was more concerned about something else, asking, “Right, brat, do you really have phoenix blood flowing through you?”

Yan Xuehen was also interested in that. As the leader of a human orthodox sect, she obviously didn’t want Zu An to have any fiend race blood within him.

Zu An shook his head and said, “It’s because of the technique I cultivate.”

The two women quickly realized what was happening. The emperor had stirred up such a huge commotion about the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra back then that the two of them had heard about it too.

Yu Yanluo said somewhat unhappily, “Ah Zu is injured, so he should be resting right now. Aren’t you bothering him by asking all of these questions?” For some reason, she just felt as if the two women were always circling around Zu An, as if they had some ulterior motive.

When had anyone ever dared to berate the two grandmasters normally? But seeing as it involved Zu An, they both endured it out of a guilty conscience.

Elders White and Blue arrived with their two granddaughters and some higher up figures from the Snake race, saying, “Clan leader, we have already prepared rooms for the guests to get some proper rest. We have also brought all kinds of treatment medicine.”

Their attitudes had immediately changed 180 degrees after they witnessed Zu An’s great battle. They naturally valued strength; besides, Zu An, having defeated the Golden Crow Crown Prince, was definitely deserving of their greatest courtesy.

Thus, the Snake race held a grand evening banquet to welcome their clan leader's return, as well as their respected guests.

Even though the main character should have in theory been Yu Yanluo, once the banquet began, it became Zu An instead.

Countless young Snake race ladies and madams ran over to his side excitedly. Their soft waists and fiery red lips really were a bit difficult for Zu An to resist.

Of course, there were also some young Snake race men who noticed Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue and tried to approach them. However, when they tried to get closer, they felt their entire bodies turn ice-cold, and there seemed to be wisps of tangible killing intent in the air.

The two women looked at Zu An, who was surrounded by women, with unkind expressions. The young men eventually concluded that the two were young master Zu’s female companions, so they didn’t dare to try anything anymore. They tactfully withdrew.

At the same time, their eyes were full of adoration when they looked at Zu An. He wasn’t satisfied with just their devastatingly beautiful clan leader; he was actually close with two other women who were just as beautiful! The most important part was that the clan leader didn’t seem to be jealous in the slightest and even tacitly approved of their relationship!

They really wanted to ask Zu An for guidance on how he did it. But when they recalled the scene they had seen previously, all of them turned pale with fright.

We don’t think we’ll be able to learn his advantages even if we try for the rest of our lives!

Meanwhile, Yan Xuehen said coldly, “Hmph, of course these Snake Race women would not know any sense of honor and shame. They are actually so… So…”

The pure upbringing she had gone through, as well as her clean and noble lifestyle, made it impossible for her to even describe the women’s behavior.

“Ah Zu is handsome, and these Snake race men all seem a bit feminine, so the contrast is clear. He also just fought such an intense battle against the Golden Crow Crown Prince, so it’s to be expected that these women would admire him so much,” Yun Jianyue said. She was from the Devil Sect, so she didn’t find any of that surprising. “Besides, he’s not even your man. Even that woman over there isn’t worried, so what are you getting all flustered for?”

Yan Xuehen’s breath paused for a moment, but she reacted quickly as well. She said, “Hmph, I was just worried for Chuyan. This fellow already has a wife, and yet he is still welcoming all of these other women. What absolute nonsense.”

Look at how happy Zu An is in that pile of cosmetics…

You have successfully trolled Yan Xuehen for +333 +333 +333…

Yun Jianyue didn’t approve of what her rival said at all. She retorted, “What wife? Your disciple already divorced from him a long time ago. If you’re talking about a wife, our Honglei is more like one. They’ve already decided to remain loyal to each other for the rest of their lives.”

Yan Xuehen sneered. “Where is the marriage ceremony? The marriage keepsakes? They do not have anything! Meanwhile, our Chuyan has been officially wed.”

“Weren’t you arguing noisily about breaking them up not too long ago? Why are you now saying that they’re officially wed and all that?” Yun Jianyue retorted mockingly.

“The only thing that is unchanging in this world is change. I’m sure you understand that principle well,” Yan Xuehen said indifferently.

Yun Jianyue was becoming annoyed. She snapped, “Stone cold woman, are you looking for trouble again?”

“You uncivilized woman, I am not going to lower myself to your level.” Yan Xuehen harrumphed, but she still stopped.

…

While sitting in the main seat, Yu Yanluo finally couldn't stand seeing Zu An surrounded by women anymore. She commanded Maid Xing to bring him back to his room to rest, citing his injuries as a pretext. Zu An didn’t have any objections and reluctantly left the evening banquet.

Maid Xing bowed after bringing him to his room, saying, “Young master, please call for me if you need anything.”

“There’s no need to trouble yourself. Just go back and remain at Yanluo’s side. She’s still injured and needs someone to take care of her,” Zu An said.

“Young master is truly caring,” Maid Xing said with a smile. “Then I will not disturb the young master anymore.” She withdrew afterward and closed the door behind her.

Zu An looked around him. The room was quite spacious, with several fine dividers. There was a luxurious carpet covering the floor, and there were precious, fragrant candles on the table. Such things weren’t the Snake Race’s style; they seemed more suited to the Yu clan. Yu Yanluo had probably sent some of her clan’s furniture over.

This woman seems to know quite a bit about living comfortably.

But that wasn’t where Zu An’s attention was focused at the moment. Instead, his previous smile vanished completely. He took out his Tai’e Sword and looked at it with a broken-hearted expression.

There were some spiderweb-like cracks on the sword’s surface. It had sustained damage from blocking the Sun Slaying Arrow head-on. The Sun Slaying Arrow was just way too strong; he hadn’t expected even the Tai’e Sword to struggle to block it.

A strand of red mist floated out from his side. Then, a lavishly dressed beauty appeared on the nearby bed. On her stunning face marked with her signature red phoenix eye makeup, there was a hint of disdain.

Zu An was happy and exclaimed in surprise, “Big sis empress, you’re awake?!”

“Call me master!” the beauty in palatial garb snapped with a stern expression. Naturally, she was Mi Li.

Only then did Zu An remember that he had already paid his respects to her as his master. He could only change his tone, replying, “Master!”

“That’s more like it,” Mi Li said, nodding in satisfaction. “You’ve made such a huge fuss that your master couldn't ignore it even if I wanted to.” She yawned lazily afterward, as if she were extremely tired.

“I’ve disturbed master’s rest; how can I ever repay these sins?” Zu An replied, feeling a trace of fear. Mi Li’s soul was temporarily residing in the Tai’e Sword! If the Tai’e Sword were destroyed, wouldn’t she go up into smoke too?

Mi Li reached out her hand, and the Tai’e Sword floated over. She remained silent as she looked at the cracks on its surface.

The Tai’e Sword had been the State of Chu’s divine sword. Later on, it had been seized by the Qin State, becoming the personal sword of Emperor Qin. Its significance for both the Chu State and Qin State was indescribable.

Zu An felt even more guilt when he saw the grief between her brows. He lamented, “It’s all because I was too weak that the Tai’e Sword suffered serious damage.”

Mi Li shook her head slightly and replied, “That Sun Slaying Bow is a deity-grade weapon of the highest grade. The Tai’e Sword hasn’t been able to recover its former strength, so the fact that it wasn’t broken on the spot was only because of your strength.”

Zu An was stunned. He asked, “Can the Tai’e Sword still be restored?”

“Of course it can,” Mi Li replied. “The Tai’e Sword’s power has been sealed, and after endless time has passed, its quality has dropped, losing its past brilliance. If you can reforge it once more, not only will the cracks be repaired, you can even restore its rank as a deity-grade weapon.”

Zu An became extremely happy. He exclaimed, “I’ll immediately look for a blacksmith to fix the Tai’e Sword!”

Mi Li shook her head and said, “Even though the Tai’e Sword’s quality has dropped, it can still barely be considered an immortal-grade weapon. How is that something a normal craftsman can work with? Some legendary weapon-forging methods are needed to forge immortal-grade and higher weapons.”

“What kinds of legendary weapon-forging methods? Can master teach me? I’ll give it a try,” Zu An said excitedly.

“I don’t know any,” Mi Li said unenthusiastically.

Zu An was stunned. He replied, “Weren’t you bragging about how you had read pretty much every book in the world, that you had touched upon every school of thought?”

Mi Li snapped in annoyance, “I’ve read quite a few books, but I only read about things I was interested in! I was the empress, so why would I be interested in things like forging weapons? Besides, there were no deity-grade weapon forging methods in the Qin State’s archives either!”

“Then what do we do?” Zu An asked as he reached out his hand and caressed the cracks on the sword. “As long as these cracks remain, if the Tai’e Sword ever broke, wouldn’t your soul lose its protection? That’s way too dangerous.”

Mi Li’s entire body trembled. She smacked his hand away and said, “I already told you many times. You’re not allowed to touch the sword’s body normally.”

But she also realized that her reaction was a bit too strong, and was worried that he might make some kind of connection. She coughed lightly and continued, “But I suppose you still have some respect and obedience within you. I suddenly recall a recording I saw in an ancient text that might lead to some clues in finding a deity-grade weapon forging technique.”