Chapter 1737: Exploring
As they stared at the now-missing half of the mountain peak, the officials, who were normally used to seeing all kinds of shocking things, were completely dumbstruck.
A while later, some of them finally snapped out of their daze, wondering, “Where is his majesty?”
That question was like the first domino to fall in a line, causing a loud commotion to break out.
Right, where is his majesty?
King Qi’s faction looked everywhere for King Qi. However, the entire peak was missing, to say nothing of any living people!
There were many people with powerful cultivations present. Their auras spread out, but they still didn’t sense anything. It was as if everyone on the mountain had vanished into thin air.
The emperor’s cultivation was just too shockingly powerful, and he was always as great as the sun itself wherever he went. Now, however, no one could sense even a bit of his aura. This was completely unprecedented.
“His majesty… Has his majesty died?” an official asked with a trembling voice.
“Silence! His majesty’s cultivation is unmatched. How could he possibly die?!” Meng Yi shot back, glowering at him.
“But…” the official began. He wanted to say something else, but Bi Yi interrupted him.
“There are no buts. I believe that his majesty has taken the fight to another place and just cannot come back for a short period of time,” Bi Qi said with a darkened expression.
His analysis received the support of most of those present. After all, the emperor’s power was deeply rooted in their minds. Even if there really were a few more earth immortals, it wouldn’t reach a point where there wouldn’t even be a single trace of him left. For better or for worse, there would be a few corpses, right?
The current situation seemed to point to the possibility that they had moved somewhere else. An earth immortal could cover incredible distances quickly. It wasn’t something people of their level could fathom. As such, it was more likely that their battle had ended up elsewhere. There would likely be news in a few days.
Bi Qi quickly added, “Set up a blockade a hundred miles wide around Violet Mountain. Furthermore, no one is allowed to speak of today’s incident. Otherwise, they will be punished for treason!”
With him serving as their pillar, the alarmed officials gradually calmed down and replied, “Understood!”
Pei Zheng and the others of King Qi’s faction exchanged a few looks. They were all deeply worried.
The other loyal officials, including Bi Ziang, began to think quickly. His eyes shone brightly. With the current situation as it stood, it would be wise to return to the capital as quickly as possible to turn the situation to their advantage.
Only Murong Qinghe and some of the juniors were worried about Zu An’s safety. They didn’t know whether he had ended up going to Golden Peak or not.
…
Meanwhile, Zu An was completely dejected as he sank into the vortex. Judging from what the libationer and Zhao Han had said, the chaotic void stream was something not even earth immortals could last a long time in. Didn’t that mean someone with his cultivation was doomed to perish quickly?
He was filled with confusion. He would never see Chuyan, Big Manman, Yanluo, or any of those other people again…
They’ll definitely be sad once they hear news of my death, right?
Besides, there’s the child in Sang Qien’s belly… They’ll lose their father before even being born. I hope she can continue to stay with Dandan and that they can rely on each other…
Even though he was full of regrets, he didn’t regret his choice at all. If he didn’t try to save the woman he loved, even he wouldn’t be able to help but look down on himself.
All sorts of thoughts rushed through his mind, but soon after, he fainted. In the last moments before he fell unconscious, he seemed to see Yan Xuehen and the others fall in after him. It was already too late for him to stop them as he lost consciousness.
…
After remaining unconscious for a long time, he gradually awakened. He looked around and saw that he was in a desolate border area. The distant skies were dusky, and it seemed to be evening. The trees around him made the place seem almost secluded and serene. From time to time, he heard some owl cries.
It clearly wasn’t nighttime, and yet everything was dark. Furthermore, it was cold, but not because of the temperature; rather, the air carried a chill that could even unsettle one’s soul.
Zu An was quite puzzled. What in the world is going on? This seemed completely different from the void that had been described previously!
Could it be that I wasn’t sucked into the void, but was sent to a place near Violet Mountain instead?
He heard a groan next to him as a dainty woman gradually woke up.
“Honglei!” Zu An cried, feeling extremely happy when he saw her. He had thought that they were dead for sure, and hadn’t expected to end up together with her.
Qiu Honglei immediately blushed when she saw him. She choked back powerful emotions as she murmured, “I… am I dreaming?”
“You’re not dreaming. We’re still alive,” Zu An said. With his current cultivation, he was at the very least capable of knowing whether he was alive or not. That was especially true after he had experienced the illusory battle against the shamans, as he had taken some time afterward to study some methods to tell apart dreams and reality.
When she learned that both of them were still alive, Qiu Honglei could no longer hold on. She threw herself into his arms and began to cry passionately, saying, “Ah Zu, you’re not allowed to take such a huge risk to save me again! Compared to both of us dying, I would rather have you live on alone!”
The two of them realized that they were still holding hands tightly. When they thought back to how they had fallen into the vortex while clinging onto each other, they both felt a warm sensation. They reflexively held on even tighter, unwilling to let go for even a moment.
A gentle smile appeared on Zu An’s face. He used his other hand to gently caress Qiu Honglei as she said, “I also want you to continue living.”
Qiu Honglei leaned against him. When she felt the heat coming from his chest, she only felt as if she were the happiest person in this world. If her master saw that, she would definitely give her blessings…
Huh?
She suddenly sat up straight. Her face was a bit pale as she asked, “Master… Where is master? Master was pulled in together with Sect Master Yan and Miss Xie. Where did they go?”
Zu An was alarmed. Only then did he remember what had happened. He quickly looked around, but what he saw was only an endless expanse of weeds and sinister trees. There was no one else in sight.
Even after looking around, Qiu Honglei didn’t find anything. She had a look of alarm as she asked, “Ah Zu, do you think master and the others were sent into that void?”
Zu An was also a bit nervous, but he still consoled her and said, “Don’t worry, that shouldn’t be the case. Since we weren’t sent there, they probably weren’t either. It’s just like a secret dungeon. Even if the same people enter, they might be sent to different places. We can look around slowly, and we should be able to find them. They’re not weak at all and should be able to take care of themselves.”
He immediately spread his ki out to search the world. He sensed some natural laws that were considerably different from where they had been previously. That was something a cultivator at his level could sense. Clearly, they weren’t near Violet Mountain, but rather in another world. After entering secret dungeons so many times, the situation wasn’t too unfamiliar to him.
“I hope so,” Qiu Honglei said, calming down a bit. She looked around and couldn't help but tremble. She wondered, “Where is this place? It’s a bit gloomy and cold.”
“I don’t know. However, the yin energy here is a bit dense,” Zu An said with a nod. “Let's look for a place to spend the night nearby first. It’s already getting dark. I have a strange feeling that staying in the forest after nightfall isn’t a good idea.
Qiu Honglei voiced her agreement. The two of them quickly began to search through the forest. The dense undergrowth of the forest wasn’t too difficult for cultivators to navigate, and they quickly found a different area. They saw a small road that was covered by weeds.
“If there’s a road, that means we’re not too far from human habitation,” Qiu Honglei said, sighing in relief.
Zu An’s expression turned somewhat serious as he replied, “Have you noticed? From the start until now, we haven’t even seen a single animal.”
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