She could still tolerate his disrespectful attitude, but how dare he openly demean her like this?

You have successfully trolled Yun Jianyue for 999… 999… 999…

Her anger was truly at its limit. She had waded across rivers of blood to get to her position as the sect master of the Holy Sect, and had bathed in them in the war between the imperial court and her sect

The temperature of the room fell several degrees. Zu An felt all his fine hairs standing on end, and sensed the killing intent blazing at him from within the other party’s eyes.

“It’s all a misunderstanding!” he quickly explained. “Big sis sect master, didn’t you say that my ki will surge when the seal is undone? I can’t control this!”

Yun Jianyue’s eyes narrowed. She had said such a thing. This really wasn’t his fault. He wasn’t having inappropriate thoughts about her. Rather, it was just the ki surging within his body.

Why then did she feel so unhappy when this thought came to her?

She subconsciously looked downward again, and scoffed. 

So ugly!

The ferocious image remained in her mind for a long while. She was finally convinced that Zu An wasn’t poisoned, but was naturally this way. Those rapists from the past couldn't compare to him at all…

Ah! Yun Jianyue, Yun Jianyue! What nonsense are you spouting?! He’s so much younger than you, and he’s also your disciple’s lover! Stop thinking about it. Stop it, stop it!

She did her best to calm herself down. She turned him around with a smack to his body, then continued to break up his seal.

Zu An sighed in relief. He’d made it through this trial safely. 

Little guy, little guy, do you know that you almost killed me just now?

With his back now towards her, he didn’t notice an abnormal redness around Yun Jianyue’s neck.

Yun Jianyue didn’t notice it either.

Before long, the furrows in Yun Jianyue’s brow lessened. She was close to completely erasing the emperor’s seal.

She took a deep breath, then she slowly gathered the remaining energy that was scattered throughout Zu An’s body. She wanted to remove all of the emperor’s remaining power in one go.

However, when her energy surrounded the remnants of the seal, it seemed to somehow sense her intentions, and its aura grew much more powerful. The seal, which had seemed like a helpless worm, suddenly turned into a roaring golden dragon, growing much stronger than before.

This was a seal created by the most powerful cultivator in the world. How could it not have any trump cards to play?

Yun Jianyue couldn’t help but remember Zu An’s own ferocious beast when she sensed this massive dragon’s sudden appearance. Her heart began to pound crazily, but she quickly focused her attention.

Unfortunately, this moment of distraction created an opening for the emperor’s power, which retaliated viciously.

*Pfft!*

A mouthful of blood sprayed out of Yun Jianyue’s mouth. Her eyes were filled with horror.

The emperor was just too terrifying! This seal could actually use her own ki to replenish itself! This meant that it would continue to grow more and more powerful! It had already recovered most of the aura that had been destroyed earlier on. Now, it was launching a counterattack.

If Yun Jianyue had been at her strongest, the emperor’s power within the seal would have no chance of injuring her, no matter what tricks it had up its proverbial sleeve. However, she was still nursing an injury which affected her cultivation, and it was difficult for her to withstand this counterblow.

She could even sense that the seal was about to enter her body and restrain her as well.

Terrified, she quickly brought all of her strength to bear against this monstrous seal.

Unfortunately, the more she fought, the more nourishment the emperor’s seal received, causing its power to grow. However, if she did nothing, the seal would enter her body.

It was a poison that worked both ways. Either way, she was dead.

Yun Jianyue tried to formulate a plan to deal with this. However, no matter what she tried, she could not stop the encroachment of that golden force.

There was only one solution, which was to cause Zu An’s heart to explode. This way, their connection would be severed, and the emperor’s seal wouldn’t have a living organism to feed off. She could completely free herself.

But…

She recalled how seriously she had been wounded by the emperor in the imperial palace, and how it was this man who had saved her from a desperate situation.

Later on, he’d even taught her how to sleep on a silk ribbon suspended in the air.

The two of them had also slept on the same bed.

He’d been willing to risk rescuing her sect members on his own, so that she wouldn’t have to expose herself to danger. 

… 

She remembered all the things that had happened between the two of them during this period. In the end, she did not release the ki that had accumulated in her palm.

Forget it. He is Honglei’s lover. I cannot kill him and have Honglei resent me for the rest of her life.

She continually told herself this.

I’ll just think of a way to remove the emperor’s seal later on.

Suddenly, she sensed a wave of power surge from deep within Zu An. Even though this power seemed rather small, it was very, very strong, much stronger even than her own grandmaster-rank cultivation.

With the appearance of this power, it seemed like reinforcements had arrived. The situation was immediately reversed.

Yun Jianyue wasn’t about to let such an opportunity pass her by. She guided this pure wave of power into her body, which nourished her entire body. As it did so, it condensed into an even more powerful force, retaliating against the emperor’s golden seal.

Step by step, the golden seal was pushed back into Zu An’s body. Yun Jianyue didn’t plan to let it escape. It had caused her so much suffering earlier on, and she was not about to let it get away with that.

Having been pushed to its limit, the golden seal gave up on fleeing and retaliated with everything it had.

Yun Jianyue’s expression grew grave. A large portion of her power had been absorbed by the seal, replenishing it. In her current state, it was difficult to completely neutralize the seal, even after being nourished by that mysterious wave of pure energy.

She couldn’t let herself be reduced to her previous state.

When this thought came to her, she decided to stop. She would help him eliminate this seal when she had completely recovered from her injuries.

At that moment, Zu An suddenly felt a swirling black hole come into existence within him. A terrifying force appeared.

Everything was being absorbed by that black hole, whether it was the golden seal or Yun Jiayue’s ki.

“This…” Yun Jianyue’s expression changed. She suddenly remembered the attack Zu An had used against her when they first faced each other. This was precisely what had almost defeated her, back in the rock garden.

She didn’t hesitate at all. She completely severed the connection between that mysterious ki and herself. Even though she would lose some of her cultivation this way, she could slowly recover it later. If she tried to contend against that black hole, she might just lose all of her cultivation.

This rascal! I’m helping him get rid of his seal, yet he’s actually trying to suck away my cultivation?

Yun Jianyue’s expression grew cold. She slowly raised her fingers and prepared to stab them into the back of his head.

However, she suddenly froze, because she noticed that the other party’s eyes were closed, and his body was quivering. He was unconscious.

It seemed like the clash with the golden seal earlier on had knocked him out.

Yun Jianyue sighed in relief, then silently let her long and slender fingers fall.

Not even she could stand against the counterattack that had been mounted by the golden seal. There was no way Zu An, with his level of cultivation, could do so.

Just what kind of crazy technique is this kid cultivating?

 Yun Jianyue frowned. In that instant, she could sense the ki the emperor had left within his body being refined by that black hole in his body.

Hmph, this kid really did profit from our disaster.

Now that his seal was gone, Yun Jianyue had no desire to stay any longer. This man’s body was growing stiffer, especially after the last struggle. At this moment, his entire body was releasing an astonishing amount of heat. She felt extremely uncomfortable being so close to him.

She got off the bed and prepared to leave. However, when she stood up, she suddenly felt light-headed. An unprecedented feeling of weakness spread through her body. She had truly been through too much.

Her vision went black, and she began to fall. Her reflexes took over, and she subconsciously reached her hand towards the bed to support herself.

What followed left her completely stunned. Zu An was roused awake by the stimulation. He looked down, then back up at the long-haired beauty in front of him. The two pairs of eyes met, and a strange peace fell across the room.

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