Chapter 1356: Mysterious Key

“Damned Black Teeth race!” Ma Tian cursed. Then, he ordered his subordinates, “Investigate the damn Black Teeth race thoroughly for me to see what in the world they are doing!”

He wouldn’t be a real man if he didn’t take revenge properly. This was the perfect chance for him to properly vent out his anger.

…

Meanwhile, Zu An’s group was already far away.

Yu Yanluo glanced behind her and asked, “Do you think the Golden Crow Guards will find out that it was us? After all, many people from the Jade Garden saw that we had some conflict with Heichi Gu and Ban Ka.”

Zu An replied reassuringly, “What are you scared of? Either way, there aren’t even any ashes left behind and there are no witnesses to serve as proof. Even if they look for us, we just have to deny it.”

Yu Yanluo was speechless. This guy really was shameless! However, sometimes, to deal with other shameless people, it was precisely such shameless methods that worked best.

“That’s all we can do for now,” she said with a nod. However, She suddenly thought of something and took out a pitch-black key, saying, “I picked this key up from Heichi Gu’s corpse earlier.”

Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen both voiced their surprise. “The White Lotus Flame didn’t even leave behind bone ashes, so how could this key come out intact?”

Zu An’s eyes lit up. He asked, “Could it be some kind of treasure?”

Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen studied it for a while. In the end, they shook their heads and replied, “That is not the case. Even though the material is unusual, it has no special functions. It is just a key. However, any place that needs this kind of key to open it must be extraordinary.”

Unfortunately, no matter how much they thought, they couldn't figure out where the lock the key opened could possibly be. Even Yun Jianyue was starting to regret killing Heichi Gu so quickly, thinking she should have asked him what the key was first. Still, who would have imagined that someone like him would actually have something so precious?

When he returned to his residence, Zu An secretly went to Yu Yanluo’s room. However, she was feeling more sensitive than usual. There were two grandmasters next door, so if something really happened, it definitely wouldn’t escape their notice. As such, she wasn’t willing to be in the same room with him no matter what.

Zu An also remembered what kind of experience he had shared with Yan Xuehen. If she heard something, he had no idea how she would react. As such, he didn’t press the issue and returned to his room to get some much needed rest.

Meanwhile, Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen had their ears pricked up all night, thinking that something would happen. In the end, however, there was nothing at all.

“Tsk, boring,” Yun Jianyue grumbled. If one were to describe her reaction, it would be akin to someone waiting at the ready with a bag of popcorn, but having no drama to watch.

Meanwhile, Yan Xuehen was much more conflicted. She had a slight blush and her eyes swirled with radiance, and her true thoughts were unknown

In the following few days, the Golden Crow Guards began to appear more commonly on the streets. It was clear that after what had just happened, many people in the Fiend King Court became more vigilant.

However, no one came to investigate the Snake race. Instead, many clans tried to worm their way into becoming friends. It was clear that news of what had happened in the Jade Garden had already spread, and people had learned that the Medusa Queen excelled at rock betting.

Even an ordinary person with that level of ability would become a respected guest of a great clan, let alone a clan leader like herself, and such a beautiful one at that. Thus, Yu Yanluo ended up being occupied by social niceties.

Meanwhile, Zu An happily enjoyed his break. He decided he would check up on Snow in Elf King Manor to follow up on what had happened previously.

However, he hadn’t expected the Elf King Manor’s security to become much stricter than the last time. Furthermore, many Golden Crow Guards were undercover nearby. It seemed that after the assassination attempt on the crown prince, they suspected that Princess Snow had colluded with him. They weren’t completely convinced by her story, so they had arranged some people nearby to see if they could pick up any clues.

For fear that he would bring Snow trouble, Zu An ultimately decided not to risk it.

…

Three days quickly passed, and the All Races General Assembly drew near.

The location of the assembly was at the mountain below the Imperial Tomb. There was a large ceremonial altar at the foot of the mountain, surrounded by a spacious plaza. The fiend races’ major ceremonies and important events were usually held there.

Zu An finally got to experience what an All Races General Assembly was for himself. It was indeed a place where there were all kinds of races, with people of all sorts of different appearances. Commonly-seen creatures were one thing, but there were some that he had never even heard of before. The animal kingdom of his previous world was nowhere near as spectacular!

Zu An stared at a race that moved as slowly as sloths in everything they did. Are these guys this slow in a battle too? Aren’t they just going to be trampled then?

However, he soon saw something even more ridiculous: The Tapeworm race. Zu An thought they were gross just from looking at them. Do these guys also live inside others and eat their shit?

There was also the Giant Maggot race, and they wriggled around like mountains of flesh. Zu An’s stomach churned. He was curious about what those guys ate. If they made breakthroughs in the future, would they become immortal flies?

Additionally, there were many other species that were similar to the Tapeworm and Giant Maggot race. Zu An thought to himself that he would definitely stay away from them. He really was scared that their innate skill would be spraying shit or something. That would really leave him with trauma for the rest of his life.

The different races sat down in their respective positions around the ceremonial stage. Zu An noticed that the ones closest to the center were all the most powerful races, while the Snake race sat in the middle.

As if seeing through his thoughts, Yu Yanluo said with a sigh, “When my mother was still here, the Snake race was really powerful. We sat at the very front. But now…”

“Haha, the fact that you’re still able to sit in the middle here after being in decline for so long already proves that the Snake race is a great race,” Zu An said reassuringly. He continued, “Don’t worry. You’ve now returned to the Snake race, and with my help, you’ll be able to restore your clan to its former glory.”

Yu Yanluo had a bitter smile and didn’t say anything. In truth, she didn’t really want to stay on the fiend races’ side; she liked her life on the human side more, and she approved more of the human world. However, she was now the Medusa Queen, so she couldn't show any weakness and disregard the will of her people.

As the different races got into position, a shrill voice called out, “The Fiend Emperor’s carriage has arrived!”

All the representatives from the different races got up to bow respectfully. They shouted, “We respectfully welcome your majesty, the Fiend Emperor!”

Zu An secretly looked up to size up the Fiend Emperor. He saw a streak of golden light descend from above. A second later, a yellow-robed elder appeared on the broad dragon throne in the center of the stage. The traces of time were visible on his body. He didn’t look too different from an elder with one foot already in the grave.

Zu An hadn’t expected the powerful and awe-inspiring Fiend Emperor to actually be such an elderly man. No wonder he was planning to carry out a succession ceremony. It seemed that his time really was limited.

The Fiend Emperor’s appearance was very ordinary; he wasn’t particularly handsome, but not particularly ugly either. His most eye-catching trait was his towering nose, however. That and his sharp, falcon-like eyes made people realize that he definitely wasn’t an ordinary elder.

When he sensed the Fiend Emperor’s eyes sweep toward him, Zu An didn’t dare to look too closely. This guy really was like a freaking hawk!

As the Fiend Emperor’s eyes swept through the entire place, his divine will spread out. Those present felt a wave of terrifying power. No one dared to utter a single word, and the representatives of the weaker races began to shake all over in fear.

A great eunuch at the Fiend Emperor’s side then shouted, “Everyone, you may rise!”

“Thank you, your majesty!” those present replied.

Some members of the younger generation were so moved their entire bodies had begun to shake. Among the fiend races, the Fiend Emperor was like a deity, the object of countless people’s worship. Now that they had finally seen him for themselves, how could they not be moved?

Yan Xuehen sent a ki transmission to Zu An, saying, “The Fiend Emperor didn’t come himself; this is just one of his separated souls.”

As a grandmaster, her knowledge of such things far surpassed that of ordinary cultivators. Zu An had heard the explanation from her before. At the earth immortal realm, one could cultivate the life soul, earth soul and heaven soul. They corresponded to the yin spirit, yang spirit, and origin spirit respectively.

A scorching sun had risen overhead. The Fiend Emperor on the stage was likely the Fiend Emperor’s earth soul. That person looked just like the real deal, though. If not for Yan Xuehen’s reminder, Zu An wouldn’t have been able to sense anything. The skills of an earth immortal truly were mysterious.

Zu An was quite curious. The human emperor had placed a soul into the crown prince’s body, but it had been destroyed in the secret dungeon. That had probably had quite the severe effect on the emperor’s strength, right?

“Looks like the Fiend Emperor really doesn’t have much time left. He can’t even attend this gathering with his real body,” Yun Jianyue said with a bit of excitement.

Yan Xuehen jumped in fright and asked, “You’re not going to run over and fight against him, are you? No matter how weakened he is, he is not someone you can deal with!”