Chapter 2598: Frenzy

“Attain Sainthood?”

The Goddess of Wu Mountain and the others widened their eyes in realization. Zu An’s words cleared up all their doubts.

Even the Lord of Slaughter and Feng Meng nodded in agreement. They had known all along that their master was plotting something, but they had no idea what his ultimate goal was.

Emperor Yao looked at Zu An with approving eyes. “You’re indeed smart to have guessed my motive. It’s no surprise you were able to foil Emperor Jun's scheme and even win his wife over in bed.”

He seemed to respect Zu An more because of the latter than the former. Perhaps due to his mother’s plight, Zu An and Xihe’s scandal made him feel vindicated.

The other ladies looked at Zu An with bizarre gazes.

Zu An said, “...Please don’t talk nonsense. Xihe and I have a clear conscience. Our relationship is nowhere as dirty as you put it out to be.”

Emperor Yao burst into laughter, but he couldn’t be bothered to argue. “Yes, my goal was to use the rise of the human race to attain Sainthood. Everyone has their way of attaining Sainthood; no path is superior to the other. If anything, you should be thankful to me.”

“I should be thankful to you?” Zu An snorted in contempt.

“Of course!” Emperor Yao replied proudly. “Look at the human race. They are weak, foolish, and backward. But you and your friends... You are charming and strong, despite being human too. This proves my path is right. The human race will prosper in the future. As someone who has benefited from my efforts, shouldn’t you be thankful to me?”

𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

Zu An frowned. Emperor Yao’s words made sense. If not for Emperor Yao, the human race wouldn't have prospered, and Zu An and his friends could have never come into existence either. Still, he said, “That doesn’t change the fact that you killed so many beings to fulfill your greed.”

Emperor Yao shook his finger. “You have two things wrong. One, it was not I, but Emperor Jun who killed those beings. Two, my actions were not to fulfill my greed but for the greater good. More beings would have died in Emperor Jun's hands if not for my intervention.”

Zu An and the others exchanged looks. They knew that Emperor Yao was twisting the narrative, but there was some sense in his words, making it hard to refute his points.

“That’s why we aren’t enemies.” Emperor Yao chuckled upon seeing their faces. “I’m not afraid of you, but there is no reason for us to fight. Even if you defeat and kill me, that will affect the future. The basis of your existence might cease to be.”

Zu An took a deep breath. Considering all the records about Emperor Yao in human history, he knew it was unwise to make a move against the other party here.

Besides, given that this was a turning point in history, it was unlikely Zu An could touch Emperor Yao even if he gave it everything he had, similar to how Xihe couldn’t stop the simultaneous appearance of the ten suns and the subsequent downfall of the nine suns no matter how she tried.

So, Zu An pointed to Feng Meng and asked, “Why did you send him to harm Chang’e, if we aren’t enemies as you said?”

Emperor Yao frowned. “I only ordered him to retrieve the immortal medicine. I didn’t expect him to act on his own accord out of lust for Chang’e.”

Feng Meng panicked. “Master, I have served you with devotion over the years. You have to save me!”

Emperor Yao’s expression turned cold. “You should have known such a day would come when you used my name to commit such outrageous deeds. I have already saved you several times now. Who was the one who healed your soul when you were on the verge of death?”

Feng Meng knew he couldn’t count on Emperor Yao anymore, so he turned into countless black little pigs and escaped in all directions. This was his escape method; it was the tactic he'd used to escape last time. He would suffer a grievous loss that would take a long time to recover, but at least he would be alive.

The Lord of Slaughter was taken aback. Even Emperor Yao was surprised. He hadn't expected Feng Meng to be so decisive.

But Zu An reacted right away. His aura had always been locked onto the culprit who caused him and the Mermaid Queen to be ‘eternally separated’. He shot an arrow via the Sun Slaying Bow, and the arrow exploded mid-flight into a massive rain of golden arrows that covered everything within a radius of five kilometers.

Boom!

Countless black pigs squealed as they were killed by the arrow rain. A massive pit over fifty meters deep was left in the wake of the arrows. The nearby city wall also collapsed as a result. It was fortunate Emperor Yao had ordered his men to retreat into the city, or else they could have been implicated in this.

Sensing that Feng Meng’s soul had been thoroughly destroyed by this assault, the Lord of Slaughter gulped and reflexively retreated. The Sun Slaying Bow was too scary; he wasn’t confident he could deal with it. Sensing Zu An’s gaze falling on him, he hurriedly retreated to Emperor Yao’s side. “Master!”

It had previously filled him with shame and anger to call Emperor Yao ‘master’, but he was now saying it on his own volition. He knew that was the only way he could preserve his life.

Emperor Yao looked conflicted. He debated whether to protect the Lord of Slaughter or not.

Just then, Salamay shouted, “Hmph! Let us go right now, or else it’ll be the end of this lass!” She had slipped back into the city during the chaos and returned with Suolun Shi as a hostage.

Zu An breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that Suolun Shi was still alive. “It’s a relief that you’re fine.”

“Big brother Zu...” Suolun Shi was ashamed. Zu An had entrusted her to guard the prisoners, but she'd foolishly fallen for Salamay’s tricks and ended up becoming the prisoner herself.

“It’s up to you to decide whether she’ll escape unscathed or not.” Salamay pressed her knife tightly against Suolun Shi’s neck. “Do you know why she released us in the first place?”

“Why?” Zu An and the others were curious to know how Salamay and the others escaped.

“Don’t say it!” Suolun Shi exclaimed with a reddened face. She even attempted to charge forward to let the knife slit her neck.

But Salamay had been on guard against that. She stopped Suolun Shi by grabbing her vitals before continuing with a smirk, “It’s because she wants your love, but she knows she’s nothing compared to your lovers. With such an inner demon, it wasn't too difficult for us to convince her.”

Despair filled Suolun Shi’s eyes. She would rather die than confront this moment. She lowered her head, not daring to face Zu An.

Zu An gently spoke up. “Princess Suoluo is beautiful, kind, and has a powerful background. Which man wouldn’t like her? You merely took advantage of her lack of worldly experience.”

Light returned to Suolun Shi’s eyes. She could tell that Zu An didn’t truly like her, but his willingness to console and preserve her dignity was more than enough to move her.

The Goddess of Wu Mountain stared at Zu An.

No wonder he has so many women by his side. With a mouth a sweet as his, which woman wouldn’t fall for him?

But those words greatly triggered Salamay. “Fine, fine. She lacks worldly experience, but I’m sly and scheming. Since that’s the case, you can regret it for the rest of your life!”

Her face distorted in frenzy. She knew that their only way out of this was to continue holding Suolun Shi as a hostage, but she couldn’t control her emotions at all. Anger and killing intent poured out from her heart.

Let everything go to ruin then!

She unhesitatingly slit Suolun Shi’s neck.

“NO!” The Lord of Slaughter panicked, knowing they would be doomed if they lost the hostage.

My daughter is usually smarter than this. What happened?

Zu An also hadn’t expected her to go berserk. It was already too late for him to stop her.

Just then, Salamay’s body stiffened. She gurgled, and fresh blood spurted out of her mouth.

She looked down and saw a spear conjured from flames piercing through her chest. She turned around with great difficulty and saw a man covered in flames.