Chapter 1487: And You Said You Two Were Innocent!

Zu An thought about his experience with the Lottery System and the Valkyrie System. His luck really wasn’t anything special. Overall, however, his pulls balanced each other out, but the process involved was always a rollercoaster. He hadn't expected the Forging System to be another wild ride, and yet it turned out that way all the same. However, seeing as he had signed himself up for it, he had to see it through to the end, even if it cost him some tears.

Thus, he began to look through the different functions. At the same time, he checked what he would need to repair the Tai’e Sword.

Just like that, some time passed. Eventually, some activity began happening nearby. Yun Jianyue was the first to wake up. Yan Xuehen was a bit slower due to her prior exchange with Zu An. Meanwhile, Yu Yanluo had the lowest cultivation, so she woke up last. But she had the Holy Pearl, so she wasn’t that much slower than the two grandmasters.

“The two of you have recovered completely!” Zu An exclaimed, feeling surprised and happy. They had been much faster than he expected.

“No, we haven’t recovered completely, but it was at least enough for us to protect ourselves now,” Yun Jianyue replied proudly. At the grandmaster rank, the power they could channel was nearly endless, so they could recover quickly. It was just that they had never expected Zu An to be like an insatiable wolf cub, crazily devouring their energies to the point that they were completely drained of strength.

𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

Zu An explained the situation outside. The Golden Crow Crown Prince had clearly made special arrangements, because there were three layers of armies inside the tomb and three layers outside. The ones who led them were old acquaintances: Grand Secretary Heichi Fei and Left Guard General Ma Tian.

The former was a firm supporter of the crown prince’s faction, while the latter was the Fiend Emperor’s trusted aide. Both sides wanted information from the Imperial Tomb as quickly as possible.

“This level of security will really make it a bit annoying for us to get out,” Zu An said with a frown.

He could change his appearance, but the three women couldn't. The uniforms the Second Empress had given him had already been destroyed, too. Furthermore, even if they still had the uniforms, there were just too many guards outside. If a few guards suddenly came out, their stories wouldn’t match up.

“Why do we have to sneak out?” Yun Jianyue replied with a strange expression. Zu An was stunned, not quite understanding her point. Yun Jianyue continued, “The Fiend Emperor has already died. Aren’t we powerful grandmasters? How would these people outside be able to stop us? Is there any reason to be all sneaky?”

Zu An couldn't help but laugh. Right; now that there was no earth immortal stopping them, the old freaks from the Fiend King Court wouldn’t stick around as guards all day either. Couldn't the group just do whatever they wanted?

The army did have formations and all sorts of large-scale magic weapons to deal with higher level cultivators, so the group could end up suffering a bit if they faced such things head-on. However, as long as they weren’t trapped in a formation, even an army would have no way of stopping cultivators like them from leaving at all.

Looks like I’m still too young. I can’t compare to the mindset of big shots like them.

…

Meanwhile, outside the Imperial Tomb, Heichi Fei patrolled the surroundings with a group of people.

Considering his identity, he actually didn’t need to get involved personally. However, the current situation was just too important. His nephew, the Golden Crow Crown Prince, had personally entrusted him with the task of keeping an eye on the tomb. He also had his own worries, so he continued to patrol the surroundings waiting for news from the Fiend Emperor.

Sigh. I really didn’t expect the Fiend Emperor to have set his eyes on that old woman back home. Still, she does have some good points.

What do I do if the Fiend Emperor comes out and mentions that? Should I just play dumb, or should I warn him to take care of his health?

Both choices would make me seem like an idiot.

Suddenly, a soldier approached Heichi Fei on horseback. He was startled, recognizing that it was a special messenger who worked for the crown prince. Usually, only the most urgent tasks would be handed to such messengers. Thus, he quickly greeted the messenger and sent all the people around him away in order to receive the news alone.

The messenger took out a letter sealed in flame lacquer. Such lacquer was special; unless the appropriate tool was used to open it, it would explode and destroy the contents inside. Even if one’s cultivation was high, it would be impossible to prevent that. The technique was used to pass on information that required absolute military secrecy.

Heichi Fei opened the flame lacquer. When he saw the contents of the message, his eyes narrowed. His expression changed greatly. He ran quickly to call over his subordinates, ordering them, “Follow me back to the Fiend King Court!”

The others asked doubtfully, “So we don’t have to wait to receive the Fiend Emperor anymore? What if the Fiend Emperor ends up blaming us…”

“Like hell…” Heichi Fei almost blurted out, but he caught himself in the nick of time. He said, “That’s not something you need to worry about. I know what’s really important. We’re going back first!”

Sensing his anger, the others didn’t dare to ask any more questions. As such, Heichi Fei commanded his own troops to ride back to the Fiend King Court.

Meanwhile, Left Guard General Ma Tian noticed what had happened. He frowned, wondering, “What in the world are they up to?”

He was just about to send someone to investigate when he also received a message from the crown prince. When he saw the contents, his expression also changed drastically to one of hesitation and inner conflict.

A while later, he finally made up his mind. He put on his armor and mounted his horse. Then, he called over a trusted deputy officer and said, “Stay here with some of the men. If the Fiend Emperor comes out, contact me immediately.”

Then, he left quickly with his remaining subordinates, just like Heichi Fei.

Many of the soldiers were startled by the sound of hoofbeats in the middle of the night. They all looked at each other in dismay. Even though they didn’t know what had happened, it was clearly a major event

When Zu An’s group emerged from the Imperial Tomb and saw that the number of soldiers outside seemed to have decreased by half, they were also stunned. Even so, their departure from the Imperial Tomb still drew attention. A group of soldiers quickly surrounded them.

Many of the soldiers expressed their loyalty by loudly shouting ‘long live the emperor’, but they were stunned to see that it was actually Zu An’s group standing there.

Zu An’s group didn’t feel like arguing with the soldiers, instead flying directly into the air. The soldiers snapped out of their daze, sending ear-splitting bugles ringing through the camp. A swarm of soldiers poured out, filling the skies with arrows.

However, after the battles between deities the group had witnessed inside the Unknown Region, they were completely unfazed by such military tactics. Even though the archers were supported by a formation, they still didn’t pose much of a threat; their arrows could be stopped with the mere wave of a hand.

The only thing that posed a real threat was a pair of heavy crossbows installed on a sentry tower. The crossbow was engraved with all sorts of runes and powered by a large ki stone, making it as powerful as an artillery piece from Zu An’s previous world.

Zu An had almost been killed by a similar weapon when he was in the capital. Back then, the enemy had used a military crossbow. The pain caused by its bolt was still fresh in his memory. The one installed on the sentry was much stronger, however.

While the group wondered how they would destroy the heavy crossbows, a large cluster of vines suddenly emerged next to the tower. They knocked down all the soldiers operating the crossbows, then wrapped around the tower and pulled it down toward the ground. The tower couldn't endure their weight and came crashing down.

Zu An was surprised. He looked in the direction of the vines and saw a green-clad figure waving at him from the darkness, clearly gesturing for them to come over. Zu An didn’t hesitate and rushed over. The other three women hesitated for a moment, but then they also followed.

When they arrived, the figure waved a hand, causing many plants to grow wildly out of the ground and form a thorny cage that prevented the army’s experts and large-scale rune masters from following. By the time the cage of thorns was cleared out, Zu An’s group had vanished without a trace.

…

Several dozen miles away, Zu An’s group finally escaped from their pursuers.

Yu Yanluo was about to thank the green-clad person, but that person cried out and threw her beautiful figure into Zu An’s arms. She sobbed, exclaiming, “I thought you would never come back out!”

Zu An embraced the woman’s thin and trembling body firmly, gently patting her to comfort her.

Yu Yanluo swallowed her words of gratitude back down. She reflexively looked at the two grandmasters, but saw that they were staring directly at her, as if hinting for her to do something as the main lover.

She was left in a tough spot. Zu An was hugging the other woman so tightly, which meant they clearly shared feelings. How could she make herself the bad guy by interfering?

And you said you and the elf princess were innocent!

You have successfully trolled Yu Yanluo for +99 +99 +99…

You have successfully trolled Yan Xuehen for +99 +99 +99…

You have successfully trolled Yun Jianyue for +99 +99 +99…