You have successfully trolled Zombie General Zhang Han for 999 Rage points!

Zhang Han?

[1]

Zu An was taken aback. 

Why does this name sound so familiar?

Right now, though, he couldn’t spare any attention to think about this matter. The zombie soldiers alone had been hard enough to deal with—now, a zombie general had emerged as well. This was surely someone beyond his ability to deal with.

He was perplexed as to why he had been able to harvest the Evanescent Lotus so easily earlier on. Such treasures tended to have powerful beasts protecting them.

Speak of the devil indeed!

Zu An quickly picked Chu Chuyan up, intending to flee, but the zombie general was simply too fast. There was no chance for him to run away. 

Black mist rose out of nowhere, and a black-armored general emerged from it. The general scanned the surroundings before finally glaring at the terracotta soldiers. “Why didn’t you stop the invader?”

The terracotta soldiers were silent.

We did try, okay? But that terrifying light in his hand was able to strip us of our color so easily… 

It was then that Zu An noticed that the black-armored general was holding Qiao Xueying in his hand. Seeing the dazed look in her eyes, he couldn’t help but wonder what the black-armored general had done to her.

Ah, why isn’t Brother Shit anywhere to be seen? Is he dead? Also, why did this black-armored general spare Qiao Xueying’s life? Do zombies lust as well?

Zu An was impressed by his mind’s ability to meander to such random thoughts even when he was in such a dangerous position.

The black-armored general looked at Zu An and Chu Chuyan before turning his attention toward the lake behind them, and his face warped in horror. “No!” he exclaimed.

His figure blurred, and almost instantaneously, he appeared right in front of the two of them. He gazed at the disappeared Evanescent Lotus in the lake and shuddered fearfully. “You two actually… plucked the lotus. Do you know how big of a calamity you’re bringing upon the world?!”

You have successfully trolled Zombie General Zhang Han for 1024 Rage points!

Zu An finally had a taste of what Qiao Xueying and the others had gone through earlier on. The terrifying pressure exerted by the black-armored general was so great that he was nearly unable to breathe.

He was still feeling cocky that his cultivation had been raised by a full step, but cruel reality had just poured a pail of cold water over him. 

He knew that there was a huge gap in power between him and the black-armored general, so he could only hope that the Magical Flashlight would be enough to deal with him. He bit his tongue to bring his mind into focus before quickly aiming the flashlight toward him.

Noticing the white light in Zu An’s hands, the black-armored general snorted coldly before warping into a blur. As fast as the speed of light was, it was still limited by the quickness of Zu An’s hands. Given the general’s strength, it wasn’t too difficult for him to dodge the radiance coming from the flashlight.

Sensing that the black-armored general was right beside him, Zu An grew alarmed, and quickly tried to move his flashlight around, but his arm suddenly went numb, causing him to drop the flashlight into the lake. Perhaps because it had fallen into the water, its light flickered for a moment before going out.

Zu An was relieved that he had managed to keep the Magical Flashlight back into the Keyboard in the nick of time. It would have been a painful loss otherwise.

Knowing that it was unlikely for him to be able to get the better of the black-armored general even if he brought out the Magical Flashlight again, he decided to just feign as if it had disappeared into the lake.

“Where’s the Evanescent Lotus? Take it out!” The black-armored general glared at Zu An and Chu Chuyan coldly. By this time, he had already tossed Qiao Xueying to the side.

Zu An swallowed fearfully and replied cautiously, “What lotus? I didn’t see anything at all?”

At the same time, he cursed that feminine voice in his mind. 

Why didn’t she warn me that there was such a formidable fellow guarding this place? I wouldn’t have come if I had known about it in advance!

Wait a moment, she lured me here before disappearing all of a sudden. Could it be that she has some other intentions in mind?

The black-armored general sorted coldly. He seemed just about to say something when he suddenly caught the scent of something. He immediately turned his gaze toward Chu Chuyan and exclaimed, “You actually ate it!”

Chu Chuyan widened her eyes in astonishment. She quickly turned to Zu An and asked in disbelief, “You… The flower you fed me earlier was an Evanescent Lotus?”

Zu An nodded his head helplessly. The black-armored general was obviously no fool, so there was no point putting on an act anymore.

Chu Chuyan immediately grew flustered. “Weren’t you waiting for an opportunity to use the Evanescent Lotus to undo the seal on your body? Why did you give it to me?”

Zu An sighed deeply and said, “There’s bound to be another way out of my predicament. If not, I’ll just have to make do with it. I couldn’t simply look on as you died right before my eyes.”

Off to the side, Qiao Xueying had snapped out of her daze, and a hint of astonishment swirled within her eyes. She was also aware of Zu An’s affliction, and she couldn’t believe that he had actually given away something that could have cured his impotence to save the young miss… 

To be honest, she had always looked down on this good-for-nothing ruffian, and she believed that he could never be compared to the young master. However, everything that had happened today made her doubt her judgment, especially when she remembered how Shi Kun had used her as a shield earlier on. On the other hand, Zu An was actually willing to make such a huge sacrifice in order to save Chu Chuyan.

The contrast couldn’t be more obvious.

The black-armored general, however, had no interest in listening to their conversation. He stood beside the lake with a grave expression on his face. The calm surface of the water began to ripple as a light blue luminescence emerged from the depths of the lake.

It quickly raised its hands to form an incredibly complicated seal before spreading a black aura across the surface of the water.

Some time later, the surface of the water finally grew still again. Nevertheless, the light blue luminescence below the barrier could still be seen clearly. It darted about, striking the layer of black on the surface, seemingly intent on bursting forth.

“What is he doing?” Zu An noticed the unnatural actions of the black-armored general as well. He was thinking of making use of this opportunity to flee, but the pressure crushing his body kept him firmly in place, and he was unable to move a muscle.

“He seems to be setting up some kind of formation to seal something beneath the water,” replied Chu Chuyan distractedly. Her mind was still an utter mess, having just learned that Zu An had used the Evanescent Lotus to save her, and she couldn’t focus on the current situation they were in.

Despite being a young lady who had never engaged in such acts before, she was still aware of how important a man viewed his own potency to be. In some cases, they might even value it even more than their life.

He made such a huge sacrifice for me… 

Chu Chuyan stared at Zu An in a daze, as her mind tumbled helplessly amidst a sea of thoughts.

Meanwhile, the black-armored general finally turned his attention back to Zu An and Chu Chuyan. He looked considerably more exhausted than before, but his face warped with a ferocious anger as it bellowed, “You actually dared to foil the Soul Suppression Seal. It’s fortunate that it hasn’t been too long since you consumed the Evanescent Lotus, and its medicinal effects haven’t receded entirely. As long as I use your body as a tribute, I should be able to calm the rampaging souls of the dead beneath!”

With a wave of its hand, Chu Chuyan immediately flew out of Zu An’s embrace and into the general’s arms.

“What are you doing?!” Zu An roared in alarm.

“As I said, I’m going to use the blood and flesh of you invaders to repair the formation and appease the rampaging souls of the dead!” The black-armored general waved its hand, and the terracotta soldiers rushed forward to hold Zu An and Qiao Xueying down. “Bring them over to the altar!”

With a gentle tap of his feet, he launched himself to a circular platform around a hundred meters away, and placed Chu Chuyan on top of a stone table.

Chu Chuyan’s ki meridians were currently all severed, so she couldn’t even struggle at all. She wasn’t afraid of death, but she couldn’t help but worry for Zu An. He had sacrificed so much for her, and her conscience wouldn’t rest easy if she were to die right now.

Zu An’s heart was in disarray as the terracotta soldiers pushed him and Qiao Xueying over to the circular platform. He thought of what the black-armored general said about them breaking the Soul Suppression Seal, which sounded like some sort of sealing formation.

However, they didn’t do anything after entering this place other than to harvest the Evanescent Lotus.

Wait a moment!

He quickly turned toward the lake and saw that the verdant lotus leaves had lost their luster and had started withering, and the mist shrouding the water’s surface had vanished as well. 

Could the lotus leaves be the formation, with the Evanescent Lotus as its formation core? Goddamnit!

Zu An cursed angrily in his mind. 

If it’s such an important formation, why didn’t you protect it well? You shouldn’t have allowed me to get close so easily!

But then, he caught sight of the huge army of terracotta soldiers on the side and his mind grew still.

Ah… 

Those terracotta soldiers were obviously here to protect the formation. With their prowess, even Chu Zhongtian wouldn’t have been able to get close to the Evanescent Lotus. Yet who could have expected that Zu An would have a tool that could suppress all of these undead beings…?

I wonder what’s sealed at the bottom of the lake that even this powerful zombie general is so afraid of. Could it be that woman named Mi Li?

Thinking back, there was no way the feminine voice would have lured him here without any reason. Most likely, this was what she had been planning.

Then again, given how melodious that woman’s voice was, it was hard to imagine her as some sort of terrifying monstrosity.

“What are you thinking of?” Qiao Xueying’s voice suddenly cut into his thoughts.

Zu An turned over and saw Qiao Xueying looking at him with her large eyes. “Ah, you aren’t dead yet?”

Qiao Xueying was left speechless for a moment.

Why is this fellow so hateful? I really feel like pummeling him every time he opens his mouth.

But to her own surprise, she didn’t get mad at Zu An this time around. 

“Why did you give the Evanescent Lotus to the young miss?” asked Qiao Xueying.

“She’s my wife. Do you expect me to look on as she dies right before my eyes?” Zu An replied with a disdainful sniff.

To that, Qiao Xueying replied calmly, “Others might not know better, but I know the state of the relationship between the two of you. You can’t even be considered a proper couple.”

“Will you cut it out?” Zu An spat venomously. “I was already regretting it, but you just have to continue harping on it, huh? Are you here to rub it in?”

A faint smile finally emerged on Qiao Xueying’s lips. “That sounds much more like you.”

She previously thought that Zu An’s ruffian-like attitude was hateful, but given the sudden change in circumstances, it made him seem honest and authentic. There was no trace of that disgusting hypocrisy surrounding him.

Shi Kun’s image surfaced in her mind, and her face darkened once more.

By this time, the two of them had been shepherded to the circular platform as well.

“Honey!”

“Young miss!”

The two of them called out to her worriedly upon seeing her on the stone table.

“I… I’m fine,” replied Chu Chuyan feebly, though she knew that she wouldn’t be very soon.

Zu An finally got a chance to assess this place carefully, and he noted that this area bore a strong resemblance to the tribute altars he had seen on television in his previous life. The altar was circular in shape, and filled with all sorts of esoteric runes. At the center of it was the stone table, on which Chu Chuyan was laid. Around her were all sorts of jars and vats that seemed to be filled with all manner of horrors.

Around the perimeter of the platform were nine massive pillars that were carved with a coiling dragon, often seen in eastern legends. Even the scales of the dragon looked incredibly lifelike.

Zu An and Qiao Xueying were tied to two of the pillars.

The black-armored general walked over with a saber in its hand and said, “Let’s start with your blood to warm up the altar. So, who shall it be first?”