Chapter 1813: One Sword For One Life
The elder was, of course, the libationer. He said calmly, “The two of us are already mortal enemies, anyway. Even if some dishonorable methods are used, it is still worth it.”
Zhao Han replied with a cold snort, “Do you think you can defeat me with just that? Could it be that you are going to rely on Sect Master Yan next to you?” His gaze landed on the white-clad beauty next to the libationer. His expression turned ugly as he continued, “Does Sect Master Yan know what your actions represent right now? Once this emperor leaves this secret dungeon, the entire White Jade Sect will have to pay the price for your actions.”
The white-clad woman was indeed Yan Xuehen. She said with a sigh, “Even if I stayed out of this affair, could it be that your majesty really would have left the White Jade Sect alone?”
She already knew about Li Changsheng’s partic.i.p.ation in the scheme against the emperor. The entire White Jade Sect was already hanging on the very edge, so anything she did at this point was reasonable.
Zhao Han was already unhappy about the Baopu Sutra. He couldn"t help but glower, saying, “This emperor has treated Sect Master Yan with considerable respect over the years. I never expected that we would face each other like this.”
Yan Xuehen remained silent. She didn’t want to fight against Zhao Han either, but with how things stood, she had more important concerns.
Just then, the libationer said, “Sect Master Yan, you should head into the great tomb to look for your companions.”
“But…” Yan Xuehen began.
She was a bit nervous, because she knew that the libationer would be a bit weaker than Zhao Han if they fought one on one. Furthermore, the libationer had gotten injured, and for her sake, no less. Of course, there was no way she would be foolish enough to reveal that information. Otherwise, Zhao Han would have even more confidence.
“It’s fine,” the libationer said, shaking his head. “You will not be able to offer much in a battle on this scale. Furthermore, you have something more important to do right now, which is contacting your companions.”
Yan Xuehen looked conflicted. She knew that what the libationer said was true, but leaving her benefactor at such a life-saving moment didn’t agree with her principles at all.
The libationer chuckled and said, “Don’t worry. He was wounded just now, so I might not lose. Besides, when you deal with the situation there, you might even be able to bring people over to help me.”
Yan Xuehen gritted her teeth and replied, “Then I will be leaving for now. Sir, please take care of yourself!” She did have something really important to tell Zu An. She wasn’t the indecisive sort, so after bowing to the libationer, she sped toward the great tomb.
“You want to leave?!” Zhao Han yelled, his expression changing. A large hand appeared and tried to grab Yan Xuehen.
Even though he was stronger than the libationer, he had been completely immersed in the immortal opportunity, and was wounded due to carelessness. If Yan Xuehen brought over some more helpers to face him, perhaps he would really be finished here. After all, he didn’t even know what Zu An’s hidden cards were yet. Zu An had even been able to kill his own split soul, so it was likely that he could pose a threat.
A large sleeve moved to block the hand as the libationer said, “Your opponent is me.”
The two of them exchanged a few blows, and both staggered backward.
Zhao Han was stunned. Then, he roared with laughter, exclaiming, “So you were injured as well!”
The libationer replied indifferently, “Isn’t your majesty also injured?”
He had inadvertently ended up rescuing Yan Xuehen, but the opponent had been too strong, causing him to also suffer some injuries. That was why he hadn’t hesitated to ambush Zhao Han; otherwise there wouldn’t be any need to fight at all.
Zhao Han said coldly, “If you were at your strongest, perhaps you would actually have a chance after successfully ambushing me. However, since we are both wounded, you’re dead for sure!”
The libationer’s expression was calm. He didn’t waver in the slightest from the provocation. He retorted, “Aren’t you a bit too confident in yourself? It is still hard to say who will come out on top in the end.”
Zhao Han laughed and replied, “That’s right, you do have talent. You might even be the most talented man I know, so it is unsurprising to see your confidence. Unfortunately, it is because you were too talented that you were interested in too many things. Your thoughts were too divided, and you spent your energy on too many different domains. A person’s concentration is limited. If you focused on a single domain, perhaps you would even have surpa.s.sed me. But since you learned too many random things, you are destined to not be my match!”
The libationer was unfazed, replying, “Who says that studying wide will definitely lose to studying tall? Today, your majesty will be able to experience my accomplishments over the years.”
As soon as he finished speaking, all sorts of runes appeared beneath his feet. A celestial map of the heavens also extended out from behind him.
Zhao Han was shocked when he saw all of these phenomena appear. He thought, If this man is given a bit more time, he might even reach the gateway to immortality before me!
When he saw that, he didn’t underestimate the libationer anymore. He took out the Human Emperor Seal, then rushed at his opponent while surrounded in golden light.
A huge explosion resounded. Waves of terrifying ripples spread outward, turning some nearby cultivators into dust. All others nearby quickly ran for their lives while filled with horror. Could it be that the immortal ruler had been revived? Who was the other person he was fighting against?
…
Meanwhile, in Immortal Ruler Baopu’s tomb, Sun En said, “Zang Ao is a man filled with deep schemes. In the past, even I was defeated by that side of him. Thus, I realized that since he did not pursue that man, there was definitely something wrong. Furthermore, when I recalled him mentioning the inner and outer manual, it was not too difficult to guess the rest.”
Jing Teng nodded and said, “That’s right, the Baopu Sutra does have inner and outer manuals, but the immortal ruler’s will has already dissipated. Only the outer manual was left behind. As for where the inner manual is, I don’t know either.”
Sun En frowned and replied, “Miss Jing, this time, your answer is quite senseless. Seeing as Zang Ao was staring at you the entire time, no matter how far he wanted to go with his acting, he would still stay around you. There is no way he would do that for no reason.
“I believe you are the one who has the deepest relationship with Immortal Ruler Baopu in this world. He was far too good to you, to the point where it does not seem as if he only enlightened you on a whim, but rather treated you as if you were his daughter.”
Zu An and Qiu Honglei both couldn"t help but look at Jing Teng when they heard those words. The other women couldn’t know because they had only just arrived, but both of them had always felt a bit strange. Jing Teng knew a bit too much, right? It didn’t seem to be as simple as her having been enlightened in pa.s.sing.
“Daughter?” Jing Teng replied, laughing in distress. “It would have been great to have parents, let alone someone as amazing as the immortal ruler.”
The others were stunned. Judging from her tone, she didn’t seem to be lying. Just what was going on?
Suddenly, the entire tomb rumbled with noise. m.u.f.fled waves of terrifying roars emerged from the tomb’s depths from time to time. Those present all shuddered from the sounds alone. Their instincts warned them that the situation was extremely dangerous.
Even Sun En had a grave expression as he said, “It was rumored that back then, the immortal ruler sealed many terrifying beings in the depths of the great tomb. It seems that was true after all.”
Jing Teng replied, “Of course it’s true. However, what others don’t know is that the immortal ruler only sealed a few monsters in the outermost layer. The monsters deeper within already existed in the great tomb. Even the immortal ruler feared them.”
Sun En asked in surprise, “So does that mean that in the distant past, someone even more powerful sealed those monsters? This great tomb is full of mysteries, isn’t it?”
Jing Teng said, “I don’t know where the inner manual is hidden, but it might very well be in the depths of the great tomb. If Sect Master Sun is interested, you can go and look around.”
Sun En chuckled and replied, “Little lady, aren’t you taking me for too much of a fool? You want me to look around in a place even the immortal ruler felt apprehensive about?”
He even shivered a bit when he heard those roars. They were clearly extremely powerful creatures, so how could he dare to go in deeper?
“Then there’s nothing more I can do for you,” Jing Teng said with a helpless expression. “I already told you the only possibility I know, but you’re too scared to do it.”
w.a.n.g Youjun, who had remained silent all this time, suddenly spoke. “No, there seems to be another method…”
“What do you mean?” Jing Teng exclaimed, stunned.
“...which is to seize your lover and force you to speak the truth,” w.a.n.g Youjun finished. At almost the same instant, he appeared next to Zu An and grabbed his shoulder.
His Flash Talismans were incredibly precious. He’d only had two left before, so he normally wouldn’t use them unless it was to save his life. However, Sun En had ordered him to use one, so he didn’t dare to say no.
w.a.n.g Youjun had been observing Zu An the whole time, but this pretty boy didn’t have any ki fluctuations. He really was unbearably weak.
This kid probably relied on his looks and flowery speech to mooch off of the women around him.
Among the women, Yun Jianyue was the strongest, but she couldn"t compare to him in speed. By the time they reacted to his sudden ambush, Sun En wouldn’t just watch without doing anything, and would restrain all of them. If they tried to do something, Sun En would definitely stop them.
As such, all he had to do was to instantly close the gap between him and that pretty boy, and then restrain him. That task didn’t seem difficult at all. The only unfortunate thing was that to do so, he would be wasting a precious Flash Talisman.
d.a.m.n Sun En, you’re too ashamed to ambush your juniors, so you’re making me do the dirty deed. F*ck you!
Just then, a streak of resplendent sword radiance appeared before w.a.n.g Youjun’s eyes. He was absolutely certain that he had never seen such a dazzling sword strike in his life. It was like the brilliant cosmos, and also like limpid moonlight. It resembled the rise of a blazing sun.
One’s sword strike could often signal the end of another’s life.
w.a.n.g Youjun was surprised by the speed he suddenly seemed to be moving at, wondering when his movement skill had become so fast. Even his body seemed to have become lighter.
Huh? Wait, why is that person’s back in front of me so familiar?
That person was grabbing Zu An’s shoulder, but its head was missing. Quite a bit of blood was gushing out.
I’m dead?
w.a.n.g Youjun felt as if his hair were standing on end.