Chapter 1368: Worst Case Situation
After they spoke, they drew their weapons and prepared to attack, but Zu An quickly took out his token.
“Huh?” The leader of the group voiced his surprise when he saw the token. He quickly stopped his subordinates and asked, “What brings you respected individuals here?”
“The court has been rather turbulent recently. We came on the Fiend Emperor’s orders to secretly watch over the crown prince to prevent anything unexpected from happening,” Zu An replied coldly. He had previously acted as an Imperial Envoy in the human world’s Imperial Palace, so his behavior was professional.
Sure enough, the leader didn’t suspect him and quickly stepped aside, saying, “Please come inside.”
Just then, someone who looked like a deputy leader quickly stopped them and protested, “Leader, we didn’t receive any orders like that!”
The leader quickly pulled his a.s.sistant aside and replied, “Are you stupid? Do you not recognize their uniform? Those are the Fiend Emperor’s personal Golden Crow Guards! Apart from the Fiend Emperor himself, no one can make them do anything! Furthermore, they even have such a high-level Golden Crow Token that can get rid of all of the formations. Apart from someone acting under the Fiend Emperor’s decree, who else would have this kind type of ability?”
The deputy leader was a bit shocked too, but he was still hesitant. He asked, “But why are the orders from the palace entirely different from this? They told us not to allow anyone in…”
“You blockhead!” The leader prodded the deputy’s head as he replied, “Think about it! The Golden Crow Crown Prince went in to undergo the previous Fiend Emperors’ trial. This is something related to the Fiend Emperor succession, so he shouldn’t be getting any external help. Otherwise, there will be a problem with his legitimacy! That’s why the Fiend Emperor can’t openly talk about this and can only secretly send in some of his trusted aides.”
Zu An and the others’ cultivations were extremely high. Even though the two guards had lowered their voices, the conversation didn’t escape the group’s ears. They all endured their urge to laugh. They had been worried about what they would do if they were stopped or if anything else unexpected happened. And yet now, this guy who was too smart for his own good had saved them so much trouble.
The deputy leader was full of admiration; he was clearly already convinced. He asked, “But since this matter is so secretive, do you think the Fiend Emperor will silence us afterward?”
The leader was stunned. He clearly hadn’t thought about that before. Now that he had been reminded, he was shocked. He exclaimed, “d.a.m.n, that really is a possibility! We’re done for, we’re done for! We absolutely have to keep this matter a secret! We have to tell everyone that if even a single word gets out, all of us are finished!”
“Okay!” The deputy leader nodded seriously.
Zu An nearly burst out laughing when he heard that. These two were really doing everything for them!
The two walked over just then and said, “Alright, there was a bit of a misunderstanding earlier. Sirs, we wish you a smooth journey.”
Zu An pretended to nod in a cold and arrogant manner, then walked off pompously. The leader sighed when he saw that, saying, “As expected of the Fiend Emperor’s personal guards, this kind of presence is completely different from that of normal Golden Crow Guards.”
…
When they were far away, Yun Jianyue finally couldn"t hold herself back anymore and remarked with a laugh, “Those two really are something else… Why were we so worried before?”
Yan Xuehen also grinned and said, “Those two are indeed rather adorable. I hope we do not end up harming them later.”
“Hmph, just false righteousness.” Yun Jianyue harrumphed. She disliked that ‘pitying mankind’ side of Yan Xuehen the most.
Yan Xuehen’s pretty brows rose. Yu Yanluo was worried that they would start fighting and quickly went over to mediate things, saying, “Let’s take out the map and look at it to see where we should go.”
Zu An cooperated and took out the map so they could look it over together. Only then did they manage to dissipate another storm. Then, the group quickly moved through the forest according to the map.
“Be careful!” Yan Xuehen suddenly cried, grabbing the others. At the same time, blue lines lit up around them. A wave of faint killing intent locked onto them. It was clear that the area was hiding a killing formation.
Just then, the token in Zu An’s hand shone with a soft radiance. The formations seemed to have sensed something, as the blue lines gradually dimmed, eventually returning to their normal state.
The others sighed in relief. Even though a killing formation wouldn’t take their lives with their cultivation, triggering the formation and drawing attention to their group was definitely unwanted.
“This Second Empress really is remarkable. She actually managed to get her hands on this kind of token,” Yu Yanluo said with a sigh of praise.
“That’s not all. Judging from what the guards outside were saying, these are the Fiend Emperor’s secret guards’ uniforms. Apart from the Fiend Emperor, they don’t listen to anyone else. I really wonder how she got her hands on their uniforms,” Yan Xuehen said in agreement.
“What are you all making such a big deal over this for? She’s the empress herself, someone with extraordinary authority. She already bore disloyalty a long time ago, so she’s naturally had her ways of scheming over the years,” Yun Jianyue said. “Furthermore, she’s so seductive in appearance and good at tempting others. Even if they were his secret guards, they probably couldn"t resist her charms either.”
Zu An couldn"t help but say, “Anyone who could become the Fiend Emperor’s secret guards would have definitely undergone strict training. Resistance to feminine charms is of the highest priority. They’d probably not be so easily confused, right?”
“I believe the secret guards would be able to withstand ordinary beauties, but the Second Empress is clearly a cut above. Her ident.i.ty is also so n.o.ble and special,” Yun Jianyue said. She looked Zu An up and down with a sneer, adding, “Even someone as experienced as you was confused, let alone those secret guards who live such boring lives.”
Zu An hadn’t expected to end up getting caught himself. He could only explain in embarra.s.sment, “The two of us are innocent and clean.”
Yun Jianyue rolled her eyes, clearly not believing that. Fortunately, the group was mostly focused on finding the Unknown Region. Their attention quickly shifted.
The security around the Imperial Tomb was strict on the outside, but there actually weren’t that many guards inside. Inside, security was more reliant on hidden formations. However, when they sensed the token the group had, the formations ceased to activate.
Lord Sui’s map only contained a rough approximation; there weren’t too many details. The group had to feel their way around a bit. Eventually, they arrived in front of the mountain range at the very center.
“The map seems to be talking about this location. It should be inside,” Yan Xuehen said, looking worriedly at the mountain.
Yu Yanluo’s expression was grave as she said, “This is none other than the tomb of the previous Fiend Emperors.”
Yun Jianyue said with a sigh, “I didn’t expect us to have still arrived at the Imperial Tomb in the end.”
No matter how fearless she was, she was still a bit scared when she thought about how this was where the previous Fiend Emperors’ heroic spirits were supposed to be. Between that and the rumors surrounding Unknown Regions, she didn’t know how many of them would come out alive, or if any of them would be able to.
“Big sis Yun, don’t be scared. I’ll protect you,” Zu An said to soothe her. Unlike others, he had already entered several Unknown Regions, so his att.i.tude was different.
“Hmph, who’s scared?” Yun Jianyue retorted, her eyes widening. “Cultivators pursue progress. Seeking the dao is often a process accompanied by death. I was just worried because there are many things back in the Holy Sect that I haven’t taken care of yet.”
On the other hand, Yan Xuehen was calmer. At this point, she was more of a figurehead in the White Jade Sect, so she didn’t have many concrete responsibilities. Furthermore, because of the matter with Zu An, she had no idea how she would face her disciple. If she really died inside, that would just solve all of those worries.
Yu Yanluo didn’t say anything and just subconsciously leaned a bit closer to Zu An.
“Let’s go,” Yun Jianyue said. She was still a formidable individual, after all. She quickly sorted out her thoughts.
Afterward, they secretly approached the entrance of the Imperial Tomb. They saw that there was a group of guards there. The one in the lead was none other than the Black Teeth Race’s leader, the national uncle Grand Secretary Heichi Fei.
“The secret guard story probably won’t be enough to fool him,” Yu Yanluo said a bit worriedly. This person was the maternal uncle of the crown prince, someone with tremendous authority. He frequently interacted with the Fiend Emperor as well. The chance of fooling him with the explanation that they were secret guards was extremely small.
“What are you so scared of? We’ll just act together for a bit. It won’t be difficult to kill him,” Yun Jianyue said, her first thought being to solve the problem through violence.
“There are many others here, though; we might not be able to instantly subdue all of them. If one gets away and sounds the alarm, the Fiend Emperor will hear the news and arrive,” Yan Xuehen said, shaking her head. The Fiend Emperor definitely wouldn’t ignore something like that. With his strength, the limitations of s.p.a.ce were already meaningless. If the Fiend Emperor came, all of them would die for certain.
“Fiend Emperor?” Zu An suddenly had a strange expression as he said, “I have a way.”
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