Chapter 1144: Chapter 1091: Tacit Understanding

Zu An was speechless. Why was he always pissing off so many big shots no matter what he did?

That Jian Yanyou really was pitiful. His own younger brother had wanted to inherit his wife and authority, and even his trusted aide had had similar thoughts.

I even spent a few days in the Duke Manor with his identity…

Pah! I’m not deranged like those two fiends!

Yu Yanluo felt ashamed and embarrassed when she heard Uncle Ming’s explanation. She exclaimed, “You rascal, you actually had such filthy thoughts!” Jian Yanyou’s younger brother wanted her, and now, even Yanyou’s servant wanted her? Was there no end to it?

“Hmph, you were nothing more than a bonus reward. Jian Yanyou and his brother might have worshiped you like a goddess, but for me, you might not even be able to compare to a beautiful parasite,” Uncle Ming said with a sneer.

Yu Yanluo and Zu An were speechless. A beast is a beast after all; even their tastes are strange.

Yu Yanluo took a deep breath to calm herself down. She then asked, “Then what about Yanyou? Are you suppressing him right now?”

Uncle Ming snorted and replied,“The original plan was to wake him up after waiting a bit longer when the Milk of Purple Frost fully formed, then use that to temper his body and allow for a complete rebirth. He would then undergo a complete transformation, with even the earth immortal rank becoming imminent.

“But I never expected the two of you to hide in the cold pool and do those illicit things…”

A blush crossed Yu Yanluo’s pretty face when she heard those words. She initially wanted to say that they hadn’t, but after thinking about it, there was no need to explain all of that to such a freak. As such, she didn’t say anything in return.

Uncle Ming continued, “Furthermore, in his despair, that trash Jian Taiding kept blabbering about how Zu An messed up the inner chamber’s harem. It was already close to Jian Yanyou’s waking time, and his consciousness was starting to wake. With that stimulation, he woke up ahead of time.

“And yet in the end, he didn’t even freaking break through to the grandmaster rank!” Uncle Ming exclaimed furiously. He stepped on Jian Taiding’s decapitated head and ground it viciously under his feet. “This guy really isn’t good at anything but messing things up!”

Zu An thought to himself, No wonder Jian Taiding was slaughtered so ruthlessly just now. So that was where the resentment came from.

Even though Jian Yanyou had been just a hair away from the grandmaster rank, he still wasn’t a true grandmaster. That was a bottleneck most people in the world would never break through in their entire lifetime.

Yu Yanluo frowned and said, “Enough; he is already dead. Why is there a need to humiliate him further?”

“If it weren’t because there are still more uses for his corpse, I would’ve already trampled his head like a melon underneath my feet!” Uncle Ming spat at Jian Taiding’s corpse, then continued, “Because Jian Yanyou’s spirit was starting to ripple intensely, and was about to wake up, I was forced to push through with the possession ahead of time.”

Yu Yanluo’s expression changed. She asked, “So the one that woke up at first was indeed Yanyou?”

“It was just a fragment of his damaged soul.” Uncle Ming sneered. “My seed had already been planted inside of his body, so he couldn’t resist my possession at all. It was only because his early rising disrupted my plans, that a fragment of his soul even leaked out in the first place. Now, his soul has long since become nourishment for me, hahaha!”

“You…!” Yu Yanluo’s expression turned extremely cold. Her World Painting swept out, lengthening with the wind. It was as if it really had become a world with mountains and seas, and it seemed about to capture Uncle Ming. Furthermore, lightning and thunder was wreaking havoc in its world. It was clear that Yu Yanluo’s killing intent had been stirred.

Uncle Ming laughed disdainfully and said, “I might’ve been a bit scared of your tricks when I was in that old man’s body, but now…”

His sleeves swept out. The unfolding world seemed to be surrounded by an invisible power, and gradually folded up again. In the end, it turned back into a scroll, appearing in his hand.

Uncle Ming fiddled with the World Painting. He clicked his tongue in wonder, exclaiming, “You clearly haven’t even reached the master rank, and yet you can still create a domain like the ones grandmasters can release. It really is quite a marvel! All of that is probably due to the power of this item. But this treasure will be mine from now on.”

“Pff!” A mouthful of blood sprayed out of Yu Yanluo’s mouth. Having her treasure seized dealt her severe injuries.

At that very moment, an arc of electricity flickered. The Tai’e Sword in Zu An’s hand turned into a streak of lightning as it stabbed toward Uncle Ming’s vitals. He didn’t even give Yu Yanluo a single look to avoid losing out on such a rare opportunity.

Uncle Ming’s expression changed slightly. He quickly raised his palms to face his opponent. Even though they were flesh, they were as tough as metal. They collided with the Tai’e Sword, releasing the sound of clashing blades.

After the exchange, Uncle Ming reappeared several zhang away. He raised his hand and looked at his ripped sleeves. He couldn't help but exclaim in surprise. He said, “Brat, there really is more to you than meets the eye. No wonder Jian Taiding was defeated.

“I’ve underestimated you, but that won’t happen anymore,” he continued. As soon as he finished speaking, he rushed over ferociously.

At that instant, Zu An felt as if the very air around him had become viscous. He felt a mountainous pressure pushing against him from all directions. Even so, he had faced cultivators of the highest level before. He didn’t panic and responded accordingly.

His movement technique was treacherous, able to create three or four identical copies each time. But before someone with near-grandmaster level strength, such tricks wouldn’t be of too much use. Uncle Ming could easily locate his real body.

However, Zu An didn’t entrust all of his hopes on those mirages. Rather, he used all sorts of techniques to disorient Uncle Ming. For a moment, the two sides were actually on equal footing.

Unfortunately, the cultivation gap between the two of them was just too great. Zu An was constantly forced to go on the defense, and that would only lead to eventual defeat. If it weren’t because his body had already been tempered by primordial ki several times, he might have already been crushed into a bloody paste by Uncle Ming’s palm.

But he didn’t panic. Instead, he was prepared for such a scenario. The Poisonous Prick stabbed toward his opponent’s body.

Unfortunately, to his disappointment, his opponent seized the dagger even though it approached at a tricky angle. Zu An’s expression changed.

Meanwhile, Uncle Ming said with a sinister smile, “Your body is as tough as expected. Jian Taiding was defeated because he didn’t expect you to trade blow for blow. Do you think I would make the same mistake?

“What’s going on with this dagger? It actually makes even my current self feel the threat of death. I didn’t expect you to have this divine weapon too, on top of that other sword you had.” Uncle Ming clicked his tongue in amazement. “But the more treasures you have on you, the better. You’re merely giving me free equipment!”

He was about to seize the Poisonous Prick for himself when suddenly, Zu An activated the Tai’e Sword’s Domain of Power. Uncle Ming’s expression changed and he was momentarily distracted. Zu An took the chance to thrust out with his Poisonous Prick.

However, Uncle Ming’s body instantly dispersed, turning into countless black wasps. After a moment, the swarm of black wasps gathered again nearby, reforming into Jian Yanyou.

“You’ve actually forced me to use my life-saving trump card…” Uncle Ming exclaimed, still feeling some lingering fear. He asked, “What was that just now? How could you possess such powerful pressure?”

“What do you think?” Zu An shot back. Inwardly, he felt incredible regret. He even managed to dodge that?

Uncle Ming snorted coldly. However, Zu An was just way too strange. Together with his apprehension toward the Poisonous Prick and Zu An’s close combat abilities, he became reluctant to approach. As such, his hands spread out. Endless white silk shot out everywhere, flying toward his opponents.

Zu An was actually a fan of white silk. But as he saw white silk cover everything, he worried that he might develop some trauma from it.

He didn’t dare to get careless, however. He immediately activated his Flame Blade when he saw the attack, bringing it down ferociously at the silk.

Uncle Ming roared with laughter, boasting, “This is the silk used for the Golden Silkworm Art’s transformation! Do you really think it fears the elements like normal silk?” However, he paused and exclaimed, “Wait, your flame is a bit strange… It can actually burn through?!”

But Zu An wasn’t having as easy a time as the other party made it sound. Even after hacking at it several times, he was only able to cut some of the silk. He couldn’t burn everything down the way he had imagined. There was just way too much white silk coming at him, covering everything.

Soon, the entire cave seemed to have become a world of silk. Both he and Yu Yanluo were pressured into a corner with no more room to evade.

Just then, Yu Yanluo’s brush moved. Soon, the Empress Lantern appeared above her. The silk immediately stopped as gentle light surrounded them. She exclaimed, “Ah Zu, hurry!”

Zu An tacitly understood what she was trying to say. He took out the imperial edict and intoned, “I make an offering to the heavens, accepting the Mandate of Heaven to speak his majesty’s imperial order…”