Chapter 2535: The Four Great Beauties of History

By this point, most of Yumen Beiqing's plans had already failed, and she was only holding on because of her reluctance to give up. She knew that the best course of action right now was to kill this fellow. Even if she didn’t do that, it would be best to reenter this point in spacetime and do things anew in hopes that something could be different.

And yet, she felt lost. She had planned everything out, and she'd been confident she could pull it off. However, she'd been a step late for everything. She couldn’t tell whether it was because she wasn’t doing well enough, or if everything had been decided by fate.

No matter how she struggled, the world was still able to pull everything back to its original trajectory.

She looked at the man amid the tribulation clouds with a flickering expression.

I've made such a huge sacrifice. Am I supposed to give up just like that? Even if I have to give up, I should at least kill him to vent the humiliation I suffered.

She slowly raised her hand, but right as she was about to make her move, she suddenly hesitated.

No matter what, this is the one time that I came closest to success. Should I give it one more try? But the Nature Jade Plate only has one last use. Should I still use it on him...

While she was hesitating, the Mermaid Queen exclaimed, “Hm? Why did big brother Zu suddenly turn green?”

Yumen Beiqing snapped out of her thoughts to look at Zu An. Indeed, his body had turned completely green. It started with just his thighs, but it quickly spread throughout his entire body. Even the light coming from his body became a little warped. It seemed to be the effect of the surrounding temperature.

“Big brother Zu is on fire!” The Mermaid Queen finally realized what was happening. She formed a hand seal and summoned a deluge of water onto Zu An.

But not only did the water fail to put out the fire, it even made it blaze with greater fervor.

“Why isn’t the fire going out?!” The flustered Mermaid Queen wanted to rush over to help.

Yumen Beiqing held her back. “Don’t go over. That’s not ordinary fire.”

“What do you mean?” The Mermaid Queen grabbed Yumen Beiqing’s hand so tightly that it hurt the latter a little.

But Yumen Beiqing didn’t blame her for it and even explained, “This should be another wave of the heavenly tribulation. That flame is neither heavenly flame nor mortal flame; it’s called the yin flame. It begins surging up from the leg’s Yongquan Acupoint up to the head. If he fails to overcome this ordeal, his organs will be burned to ashes, and his limbs will wither. If that happens, his years of cultivation will have been in vain.”

Yumen Beiqing was shocked as well. This was one of the Three Disasters that deities encountered once every five hundred years. Why would Zu An encounter that when he wasn’t even a deity yet?

Even deities had died to this tribulation before. A mortal encountering it was bound to die.

The Mermaid Queen was horrified. She anxiously asked, “Is there a way to deal with this yin flame?”

Yumen Beiqing looked at Zu An’s green figure and calmly replied, “That flame is fueled by desires. He can survive this ordeal if he holds to his heart. Otherwise, he will be reduced to ashes. Outsiders won’t be able to help him at all.”

The Mermaid Queen breathed a sigh of relief. “That’s good to hear. Big brother Zu has a strong heart. He’ll weather through this ordeal.”

Yumen Beiqing sneered.

This woman doesn’t know how terrifying the yin flame is. Even deities have fallen prey to it, let alone that lustful fellow!

In the time they had spent together, she had witnessed how great his desires were. It was unknown what surfaced in her head, but her cheeks reddened, and her eyes narrowed in rage.

Hmph, this works fine. It’s heaven’s will if he dies here. I won’t have to make a move.

Zu An was unaware of the situation outside. He thought groggily,

What was I doing earlier?

He noticed thin veils hanging around him as he sat on a massive, soft bed. A subtle sweet fragrance lingered in the air, mesmerizing him.

While he was trying to make sense of the situation, he heard a melancholic pipa melody that sounded pleasing to the ears.

He looked over and saw a gorgeous woman wearing a red cloak. She was dressed like a nomad, giving her an air of valiance. And yet, she also carried the coyness of a woman from the Central Plains. Her hands lightly stroked the pipa, producing beautiful melodies that seemed to tug directly at Zu An’s heartstrings.

Moonlight shone through the window and bathed her in its cold radiance.

Zu An was suddenly reminded of a poem:

In the Qin’s Han residence, the shadows illuminate Consort Ming.

He was amazed that such a ravishing woman could exist in the world. He was about to ask her what was going on when he suddenly heard a crisp, bell-like chuckle.

It turned out that two women were dancing gracefully in the room. One of them wore a graceful and dignified dress from the Qin-Han era. The other wore a fluttery red dress that looked as vibrant as a blossoming flower. They held hands while dancing lithely. It looked as if they were competing to be the most beautiful flower in the room, yet their movements harmonized into an enchanting performance. Their faces were reddened with embarrassment, and amid their dance, they looked at Zu An with amorous eyes. It was as if they were doing all these things to pleasure him, to receive his affirmation and love.

Zu An had to concede that he had been presumptuous. Only a moment earlier he'd wondered how there could be someone as beautiful as the red-cloaked woman playing the pipa, but two other equally gorgeous women appeared right after.

“What’s going on?” Zu An wondered, feeling disoriented. His normally quick mind felt bogged down as if it was trapped in a swamp, preventing him from thinking normally. All he could do was obey his instincts and admire the beauties before him.

“Hubby~” A seductive voice echoed from behind, accompanied by the sound of splashing water.

It was only then that Zu An realized there was a huge spring in the room, and a gorgeous woman was bathing in it. Her arms rested against the border, and she looked at him with an inviting smile. Glistening water droplets flowed down her neck, drawing one’s eyes to her cleavage.

Zu An gulped.

To think that there are four beauties of such caliber here!

“Hubby, why are you still in a daze? Come here and bathe with me. Xi Shi, Diaochan, and Zhaojun, you must be exhausted too. Come and join us!” The beauty in the spring beckoned them over.

It took tremendous willpower for Zu An to keep his nose from spurting blood. He was shocked by the names of the women.

Aren’t they the Four Great Beauties

[1]

of history? The woman inside the spring must be Imperial Consort Yang.

Who am I? Where am I? What am I going to do?

He felt as if insufficient blood was flowing into his head, possibly because it was charging into his other head.

Xi Shi chuckled. “That won’t do. He hasn’t chosen yet.” She looked at Zu An with amorous eyes. “Hubby, who do you want to serve you tonight?”

There was an inkling that something was off at the back of Zu An’s mind, but in his dreamlike state, he was unable to connect with his rationality. He instinctively laughed and said, “Only a child chooses. I want it all!”

1. The Four Great Beauties are four Chinese women who were renowned for their beauty. The four are usually identified as Xi Shi, Wang Zhaojun, Diaochan, and Yang Yuhuan. Diaochan is a fictional character, while the rest have been greatly embellished by legends. They gained their reputation from the influence they exercised over powerful men and, consequently, their impact on Chinese history. ☜