Chapter 1092: Annihilated
Uncle Ming’s expression changed. Only then did he remember that Zu An still had such a ridiculous trump card at his disposal. He instantly charged over.
The Empress Lantern slowly rose, bathing him in its radiance, making his body freeze. However, he sneered and remarked, “Do you really think a fake Empress Lantern can trap me?”
As he spoke, he swept one of his sleeves outward. Endless silk rushed out, instantly wrapping up the lantern. Not even a bit of light could penetrate it. Then, he reached out his hand. The silk tightened, and the lantern was instantly crushed to pieces.
Yu Yanluo groaned. A strand of blood trickled out from the corner of her mouth. Creating such a treasure through art would bring about a huge rebound to begin with, let alone now that it had actually been destroyed.
Uncle Ming smiled maliciously and pounced at his two opponents. Powerful winds swept over them and made it difficult for them to even breathe.
Zu An’s expression changed greatly. He knew that, as Uncle Ming’s strength was now comparable to a grandmaster’s, there was no way he could finish chanting the rest of the imperial edict in such a short amount of time.
He was about to grab Yu Yanluo and evade when he suddenly saw Yu Yanluo’s hair bun disperse. Her black hair moved around her. A terrifying aura surged through the entire cave.
Because Yu Yanluo was in front of Zu An, with her back to him, he didn’t see that a dark red light had suddenly appeared in her eyes.
“You’re…” Uncle Ming began as his eyes rapidly narrowed. However, his voice came to a screeching halt. He felt as if his entire body had become incredibly heavy, and the surface of his skin had even begun to harden. He was horrified. He quickly used his own ki to dispel the strange transformation and didn’t have any time to waste on speaking.
Fortunately, Yu Yanluo’s cultivation and strength weren’t great enough. Otherwise, he would have been instantly petrified. The Golden Feathersilk Art surrounded his entire body, and he struggled free from the technique in a split second.
“Hahaha, I never expected this! I didn’t think I'd make this kind of discovery today! You’re mine; everything that belongs to you is mine!”
He rushed forward as if he had gone crazy. His ki seemed to have reached the absolute peak, and he didn’t hold back in the slightest when he attacked.
But because Yu Yanluo had bought him time, Zu An managed to finish the imperial edict’s chant. A terrifying wave of aura condensed in the cave, and a golden face that vaguely resembled the current emperor appeared overhead.
“Noooo!” Uncle Ming screamed in horror. He couldn't be bothered with the two of them anymore and immediately turned tail to run. At the same time, endless silk surged outward, creating layer after layer of defenses behind him.
The golden figure in the air moved. He slowly opened his eyes, and two streaks of golden light fired outward. The silk that seemed impervious to all elements seemed like white snow before a blistering sun, instantly melting away.
No matter how fast Uncle Ming was, he couldn't move faster than the speed of light. He was instantly struck by the streak of golden light. He screamed miserably, and his entire body erupted into flames. As his body was overcome by a raging blaze, he turned into a ball of fire, screaming miserably.
Suddenly, however, a black mist flew out from inside the fireball. Upon closer inspection, it wasn’t a black mist, but rather a cloud of black wasps. The parasites didn’t gather together and instead dispersed in every direction.
“No! That’s the Parasite race’s life-saving skill! If even one gets away, there will be a chance for his return!” Yu Yanluo exclaimed worriedly.
There were just far too many wasps, and they all flew in different directions. They had already flown far away in the blink of an eye. The pair couldn't stop them even if they wanted to.
“Don’t worry, his majesty wouldn’t be worthy of his title of the most powerful if he really did let him get away,” Zu An said in consolation.
Sure enough, before he even finished his sentence, the golden face in midair became blurry. Then, it turned into the form of a sun, and countless golden rays fired outward. There wasn’t a single place to hide from its radiance.
The parasites screamed miserably. At almost the same instant, smoke came out of every single one, and they were all lit ablaze. They were burned to dust in just a few breaths of time.
A powerful cultivator of an age had been completely annihilated in just a few seconds.
The golden face in midair gradually dissipated after the attack concluded, and its terrifying pressure also gradually faded.
Even though Zu An had fought against the emperor’s split soul in the dungeon, he still couldn't help but gulp down saliva when he saw such a scene.
“This Uncle Ming was full of schemes, but he actually met his end in such a way,” Zu An said with a great sigh.
“It’s a pity that Yanyou’s remains were destroyed though,” Yu Yanluo said, her eyes full of grief when she saw the ashes on the ground. She wanted to say something else, but suddenly staggered and collapsed.
Fortunately, Zu An moved quickly, supporting her and preventing her perfect face from hitting the floor. He asked, “Madam, what’s wrong?”
Yu Yanluo’s complexion was extremely pale, without a shred of color. But she didn’t respond no matter how Zu An hollered at her. Sensing how faint her ki was, Zu An jumped in fright. Why were her injuries so serious?
There was no time to return to Cloudcenter City. He took out some medicine and fed it to her. Then, he infused his ki into her to treat her injuries. Fortunately, although her injuries were serious, there was no danger to her life. It wasn’t anything close to a hopeless situation.
Zu An’s fourth layer of the Primordial Origin Sutra was perfect for treating injuries. He didn’t waste any time and sat down to open up Yu Yanluo’s meridians, guiding the medicinal effects through them.
But it would be a problem to keep her seated in the cave. He knew that her body naturally rejected the cold. Furthermore, because of the Bull’s Cream, the process of expelling the drug had made her condition much weaker than usual too.
If she were to sit on the ground, the cold would invade her wounded body very quickly. It might even leave behind some irreparable conditions.
It had been a similar situation when Chu Chuyan was suffering from her own cold condition. If it weren’t because of his diligence day after day, she might have long since perished. He couldn't just use that method to save Yu Yanluo, though, could he?
Forget about whether she was willing or not, he wasn’t the kind of person to take advantage of someone in such a situation. He wouldn’t leave behind any hidden illnesses just so he could use them as a pretext to obtain her body.
But for some reason, the cave was incredibly cold. He couldn't even find a single spot in it that was closer to a normal temperature.
Helpless to do anything else, Zu An could only sit down on the frozen surface and take her into his embrace, using his own legs to support her. One hand pressed against the center of her body, while the other pressed against her belly. He began to use the Primordial Origin Sutra, sending in an endless amount of ki to treat her.
…
Meanwhile, in the faraway Imperial Palace, inside the Imperial Study, the emperor opened his eyes. He looked toward the northwest and muttered, “It seems Cloudcenter’s situation is about to be settled.”
He thought for a bit, then summoned Eunuch Wen and ordered, “Pass down my decree. Order Yi Commandery’s troops to immediately return to their station. They are not allowed to enter Cloudcenter Commandery.
“Furthermore, issue a secret decree reprimanding Sang Hong and saying that he is not to willfully transfer the troops of a king.”
The emperor continued to issue several decrees. When Eunuch Wen left, a lesser eunuch came to report, “Your majesty, the crown princess seeks a meeting with you.”
The emperor frowned. After all, he had always quite liked that ‘daughter-in-law’ of his. She was pretty, and she had the demeanor of someone befitting her status. She was also the next empress candidate he had chosen for himself.
But ever since his split soul had perished in the dungeon, he felt a bit uneasy when he looked at her. He didn’t know whether he should continue to see her as his future wife, or if he should see her as his daughter-in-law.
“Your majesty, the crown princess seeks an audience with you.” Seeing that the emperor was absentminded and hadn’t replied for a long time, the lesser eunuch thought the emperor hadn’t heard him, so he carefully repeated his report.
The emperor snapped out of his daze and waved his hand, indicating that he had heard what the eunuch said. He commanded, “Call her in.”
Soon afterward, the splendidly-dressed Bi Linglong walked in. She greeted him in a natural and proper manner.
The emperor nodded inwardly. The crown princess really did exude grace with every movement. There weren’t any problems that could be picked out of her behavior. His expression eased a bit as he thought that, and he asked, “Why has Linglong come here tonight?”
Bi Linglong said with a smile, “Replying to Father Emperor. Just now, I sensed that there was a disturbance in the world; it seems someone has used the imperial edict to summon Father Emperor’s power. The power of each use of the imperial edict is no small matter. Is there a chance that something unexpected happened to our Imperial Envoy in Cloudcenter Commandery?”
The emperor’s eyes narrowed. His expression became somewhat dangerous, and he asked coldly, “Are you worried about the Imperial Envoy, or are you worried about Zu An?”
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