Chapter 848: Encroaching Danger
Zhao Ruizhi’s gaze was filled with excitement. When he thought about the immortality he could potentially obtain, he almost stopped caring about Zu An. Possession was, after all, just a last resort. If he really could obtain immortality, he would absolutely use his own body.
He walked over to the edge of the floating island, deciding to fly toward the three islands. Even though they were several hundred zhang apart, it wasn’t too great a distance for him. However, he suddenly stopped. After some hesitation, he ordered He Li, “Fly up and take a look around first.”
He Li’s face instantly paled. Even though he was curious about what kinds of things these immortal mountains were hiding, he was usually timid and cautious in nature. He immediately understood that the emperor wanted him to use him as a guinea pig. They had just experienced more than half a month of hell. Even though the scenery looked peaceful, who knew what kind of dangers there were?
Unfortunately, he couldn’t defy the emperor’s orders. However, he suddenly had an idea. He ordered some of King Qi Manor’s experts to lead the way. At the same time, he promised that if they found anything good up there, it would be theirs.
These fellows were usually rather submissive and easy to sway. Sure enough, their breathing became hurried when they heard that condition. These immortal mountains were just too amazing to look at. They completely fit the description of a legendary immortal dwelling! If they could head up first, they might encounter some miraculous opportunities.
Even if they didn’t find anything else, they could see some fruits that were clearly extraordinary. If they ate a few of them, even if they didn’t go through a complete rebirth, making significant progress in their cultivation wouldn’t be an issue. As such, they agreed excitedly.
Zhao Ruizhi smiled. This He Li was quite the talent. Either way, he just needed people to scout out the situation. He didn’t care who it was that went up there. As for whether or not they really found anything, it didn’t matter if it didn’t catch his interest. If it did, why would he let them have it?
The experts from King Qi Manor weren’t at the ninth rank yet and couldn’t fly. But now that the world stabilized, there were floating islands all around them. The distance between each island wasn’t too great, so with their cultivation, jumping up wasn’t too difficult.
He Li even helped them out a bit. With his cultivation at the peak of the ninth rank, even a rock he threw would reach those three sacred mountains. The experts borrowed the force of his pushes to land on the closest floating island. They were worried that they might be outdone by their peers, so all of them went all out. But their expressions suddenly changed midway.
“What’s going on?” someone cried out in alarm, because they discovered that all of their strength had suddenly disappeared!
Then, the experts began to fall back down like lumps of iron. They were like drowning people, frantically waving their arms around to try and grab something, but they were in midair! What could they possibly grab? Soon afterward, they dropped from the sky one after another, screaming in alarm and horror. Those remaining paled in fright as they watched.
The black mist below them was already rising higher and higher. It was already close to the small islands. But compared to its initial pitch-black color, now that sunlight had scattered down again, the black mist became pink. It was now as beautiful as a sunset glow.
The experts fell into the mist clouds, and their miserable screams came to a grunting halt.
“Huh?” They had created such a huge disturbance, so it was hard for Zu An not to notice it.
The laws of the world had clearly already stabilized, so why had they fallen? Furthermore, even those massive islands could float in the sky, so why had these people, who were small in comparison, dropped like that?
He quickly asked Mi Li, but realized that he was already depending on her too much. It was just like the famous saying: ‘If you don’t know about something outside of China, Google it; if you don’t know about something inside China, Baidu it; if you don’t know something about sex… Ahem…’ He felt as if Mi Li were becoming his Google and Baidu.
Mi Li explained, “Every world has its own laws. These laws can be all sorts of strange things, and you have no choice but to accept it. Once cultivators reach the grandmaster or earth immortal level, they can create domains of their own, which are equivalent to extremely small worlds. The laws are set by them, so they can use laws that are unfavorable for any opponents that invade their domains. Any enemies who are unaware of that might end up suffering greatly.”
Zu An remembered what it had been like when he faced Zhao Ruizhi. He couldn’t move an inch inside the other party’s domain. If not for the fact that the world’s elements had been in chaos, destroying the emperor’s domain, he might already be dead.
Mi Li continued, “This dungeon is similar; I believe it prevents flight. As for why those giant islands can continue to fly in the air, while people can’t, there’s no need to think about it further. You only need to know that the laws exist and how they operate. You might encounter laws that are even stranger and more outlandish.”
Zu An half-understood what she said. How badass would it be if he could create a world of his own? If he had the ability to set a world’s laws in the future, he would definitely make beaches everywhere. Bikinis would fill the streets, and only tank tops and booty shorts would be the limit, no more clothes beyond that…
Mi Li spoke again. “What you need to pay attention to is the pink mist. We clearly can’t see any more lightning, but why did those people become silent the moment they fell into the mist clouds?”
Zu An asked in confusion, “Don’t tell me it’s poisonous?”
“If it’s poison, then you should be happy because of your poison immunity.” Mi Li frowned. “But not even a strong poison should be able to instantly kill off those cultivators. Furthermore, the mist is still rising. Even though it isn’t moving quickly, it will reach this place sooner or later.
On the other island, the deathsworn soldiers didn’t dare to continue trying when they saw their companions die so miserably. He Li was also getting a headache. I’m finished! What if the emperor asks me to go first?
Fortunately, Zhao Ruizhi wasn’t in the mood to pay him any attention. Instead, he stood by the edge of the island and observed the mist below. Suddenly, he reached out his hand, seizing the tail of a massive python from the forest. With a startled roar, the python struggled frantically. It tried to wrap itself around Zhao Ruizhi, its mouth widening and biting down on him.
Zhao Ruizhi harrumphed. With a flick of his wrist, the python’s body rippled like a wave. With that, all of its bones became disjointed, its body becoming as limp as a noodle, unable to resist at all. Even though its cultivation had reached its current level, it wasn’t able to free itself from the weakness of being a snake.
The beasts in the forest hid themselves in alarm, as if they could only feel a bit safer if they got further away from the emperor.
The onlookers gulped. They could only sigh in admiration toward the power of the emperor. Even a beast this terrifying had been so easily subdued.
Zhao Ruizhi lowered the python into the cloud mist. Due to the ridiculous length of its body, it could barely touch the edge of the mist. After a moment, he quickly frowned and pulled the python back up.
The onlookers were startled, because half of the python’s head was now missing! The front half was nowhere to be seen, and not a single drop of blood fell from the clean cut. They had no idea what kind of thing had sealed that area.
They finally knew why those individuals had become silent upon making contact. They were already just like this snake, devoured by an unknown and mysterious power! They all felt despair when they saw the mist rising higher and higher.
Zu An sighed. “That guy really is vicious… That python helped him protect that island for almost an entire month, so it should have been a comrade for better or for worse, yet he turned on it so quickly.”
Bi Linglong also turned pale. “The emperor is the most ruthless one of all.”
That was something she had always understood. It was just that she had been the crown princess, and the emperor had always backed the crown prince. He had always targeted enemies with his vicious methods, so she’d only felt admiration, and even a bit of adoration. But only now that the emperor had become her enemy did she understand how frightening such a person was.
Zu An patted her arm gently to comfort her. Zhao Ruizhi said coldly from the other island, “Stop flirting already. Why don’t you think of a way to head on up?”
Even with the emperor’s ability, he was still a bit stumped. The new domain was suppressing him considerably; otherwise, a trifling few hundred zhang of distance wouldn’t be a big deal at all. He hated Zu An bitterly, but he had to admit that the kid was sharp, and he had a bunch of strange and bizarre skills as well. He might very well have a solution to this situation.
The mist below was getting closer and closer. Even though the mist might not be able to kill him with his cultivation, he couldn’t last forever, let alone the fact that he still wanted to chase after immortality.
Zu An chuckled when he heard what Zhao Ruizhi said. “I see, you’re begging me. But why do I feel your attitude isn’t right? Maybe I’ll feel a bit more motivated if you speak nicely.”