“Devil’s Eye!” Zhuxie Chixin’s expression grew serious. “Everyone, don’t look into her eyes!”

But unfortunately, it was already too late. There were many Embroidered Envoys whose eyes were filled with purple radiance. Then, they turned their weapons on their companions.

How could these Embroidered Envoys have predicted that these comrades who had fought with them through life and death would attack them? They immediately suffered serious casualties. Then, the Embroidered Envoys whose eyes were shining purple rushed at Zhuxie Chixin while screaming.

Zhuxie Chixin was furious. He immediately evaded the attacks and defended himself, because these were all Embroidered Envoy elites. He didn’t want them to suffer injuries, which was why he had to hold back a great deal.

Unfortunately, the Embroidered Envoys who were being controlled by the Devil’s Eye were absolutely ruthless. All of them screamed while attacking his vitals.

These individuals had been proficient in coordinated attacks to begin with. Even with Zhuxie Chixin’s profound cultivation, he was still quickly placed in a difficult situation, since he had to hold back.

After some time passed, he roared in anger. He knew that he was going to have to pay a hefty price as well if he continued this, so he no longer held back. His figure turned into a red afterimage, quickly cutting through the Embroidered Envoys’ formation.

He was just too fast. The others couldn’t keep up at all. Miserable screams filled the place as they flew outward one after another.

Soon afterward, all of the Embroidered Envoys collapsed. They were all clutching their arms or legs while screaming in pain. Zhuxie Chixin hadn’t taken their lives, and had instead broken their arms and legs to temporarily rob them of their mobility.

Even though their injuries were serious, they would at least live. After a few months of recovery, they could return to their posts. However, the Embroidered Envoy's power would weaken substantially for a few months.

Zhuxie Chixin stared at Yun Yuqing and exclaimed furiously, “Disgraceful woman, you’re courting death!”

Then, with a flick of his wrist, a terrifying chain flew out from his sleeve. At the end of the Soul Reaping Chain was a pitch-black sickle. Its bloodthirst and the hatred of the vengeful souls within could be sensed even from far away. This sickle had clearly reaped the lives of countless powerful cultivators.

Yun Yuqing’s expression was serious. Her eyes erupted with purple light, even leaving a bit of purple color in Zhuxie Chixin’s eyes.

However, his eyes became clear again a moment later. He harrumphed and said, “I might have really been controlled if your cultivation were a bit higher. What a pity, you’re still too far off!”

That pitch-black sickle had already somehow appeared behind Yun Yuqing by the time Zhuxie Chixin finished speaking. Yun Yuqing’s foot tapped against the ground. Runes flickered by her feet, and she quickly evaded. At the same time, her finger began to draw runes in retaliation.

Unfortunately, her opponent was Zhuxie Chixin. How could someone who was nearly a grandmaster give her this chance?

That sickle reappeared at an inconceivable angle, tangling around Yun Yuqing relentlessly. It was to the extent that Yun Yuqing had no choice but to give up on drawing her runes several times to dodge. She was interrupted more than ten times and couldn’t even draw a single complete rune.

Zu An’s brows furrowed deeper and deeper. He noticed that Yun Yuqing had less and less space to evade. He reckoned that she would be done for in less than a stick of incense’s worth of time.

He sighed. In the end, he still wasn’t the type to have a heart of stone. His figure flickered, and then he instantly appeared beside Yun Yuqing. He brandished his sword, blocking the attack that would have taken her life. Then, he quickly said, “I’ll help you hold him off. Hurry and draw a rune.”

A rune master like Yun Yuqing needed precisely a meat shield like him to buy time.

Yun Yuqing opened her mouth. Her beautiful eyes glistened with tears. However, she didn’t say anything useless and instead quickly drew a rune. She knew that Zhuxie Chixin’s cultivation was far above theirs. Only by gambling with both of their lives would there be a chance of life.

Zhuxie Chixin was shocked and furious when he saw this. “Zu An! Do you know what you’re doing right now?!”

Zu An sighed. “Thank you, commander, for your concern. Unfortunately, she has saved my life twice, so I can’t just watch her die.”

“You’re committing treason!” Zhuxie Chixin screamed. “There will be no place left for you in this entire Great Zhou Dynasty, in all of human society! Is it worth it?”

Even Yun Yuqing subconsciously looked at him, because she wanted to hear how he was going to reply.

Zu An sighed. “There are many things in this world that can’t be weighed in terms of ‘worth’ or ‘not worth’. I only know that if I don’t save her today, I’ll spend the rest of my life in conflict and suffering.”

Zhuxie Chixin’s expression immediately turned cold. “Since you’re willing to ruin your own prospects for a woman, then you can just… die as well!” His aura surged powerfully. His Soul Reaping Chain instantly split into many, and countless scythes rushed at Zu An.

Zu An focused a hundred and twenty percent of his attention, but he still couldn’t dodge, or else Yun Yuqing would be instantly diced into pieces behind him. His expression was grim as he used everything he had learned to defend against the myriad of scythes. Soon afterward, there were countless cuts on his body from which blood dripped.

The gap in cultivation between the two of them was just too great. It was futile no matter how hard he tried. Fortunately, he had the Primordial Origin Sutra, which helped him repair his body’s injuries. Otherwise, he would have already been turned into a bloody mist by those terrifying scythes of death.

Zu An sighed. He remembered how easy it had been for Yun Jianyue to deal with this scythe back in the Eastern Palace. Only when he faced it now did he realize just how terrifying the scythe was.

“Tempest’s Exorcism!” Yun Yuqing screamed, half-sobbing. She watched as Zu An protected her without taking a single step back, no matter how much he suffered. She really wished she had another hand so she could complete the rune formation even faster.

Myriad runes flickered in midair, and endless streaks of purple light erupted from them. All of them had the same target: Zhuxie Chixin.

Zhuxie Chixin’s expression changed. He flicked his arm, retracting all of his Soul Reaping Chains. Then, he quickly spun them above his head, forming an umbrella-like barrier to defend against the incoming purple rays.

Yun Yuqing’s forehead was covered in sweat. She maintained the runes with great difficulty while telling Zu An, “I can’t injure him; I can only stall him. You need to run, or else we’ll both die here!”

Zu An’s expression was overcast, but he replied, “That might not be the case!” His figure flashed as he rushed in Zhuxie Chixin’s direction.

Zhuxie Chixin sneered when he saw Zu An charge toward him. “You’re courting death!” The sickle in his hands blocked Zu An’s path, spinning like a meat grinder. Zu An would turn into mincemeat before he even got close.

Zu An raised his Tai’e Sword, and then roared out one word after another, “Domain of Power!”

In that instant, a powerful pressure spread outward from the Tai’e Sword. The Tai’e Sword pursued the sword dao of power, and this was its domain. However, this skill had a cooldown time of roughly a month. That was why Zu An wouldn’t use it unless he had absolutely no choice.

“This is…” How could Zhuxie Chixin defend himself from such a terrifying force? His entire body began to subconsciously tremble. This was a force that shook his very soul. A momentary sluggishness overtook the Soul Reaping Chains in his hand.

Zu An seized this moment to arrive next to Zhuxie Chixin. He took out the Poisonous Prick, and it cut through Zhuxie Chixin’s neck.

“You…” Zhuxie Chixin clutched his throat. Unfortunately, black runes spread from the wound. Soon afterward, he collapsed without drawing another breath.

Zu An sighed in relief. He arrived at Yun Yuqing’s side and picked her up, asking, “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” Yun Yuqing looked at him with a gentle expression. “Ah Zu, you treat me too well.”

Zu An smiled bitterly and said, “Let’s leave for now. We might have startled others with the commotion we caused here.”

He didn’t even have time to tell Chuyan goodbye. The only fortunate thing was that he didn’t have any family. Chu Chuyan had already severed her relationship with him in name, so his actions wouldn’t involve her.

Suddenly, a terrifying pressure descended, and a voice intoned, “You want to leave?”

Zu An’s eyes narrowed. He immediately turned around and saw a dragon robed figure standing on the roof. Who else could this be but the emperor?

“Why is it him?!” Zu An muttered as his thoughts went ice-cold. I’m finished, I’m done for! Even though he was unyielding at heart, he wasn’t stupid. He needed time to grow! There was just too much of a gap in strength between him and the emperor right now.

The emperor scanned the battlefield. He saw the Embroidered Envoys scattered everywhere, particularly Zhuxie Chixin’s corpse. He erupted with rage, exclaiming, “You dare betray this emperor? I’m going to make sure you die a miserable death!” He raised his hand as soon as he finished speaking. In an instant, a massive palm projection crashed down from the sky.

Zu An and Yun Yuqing felt that the air had become hard to breathe. They wanted to escape, but their bodies were locked in place. The terrifying power before them made the two of them feel absolute despair.

Yun Yuqing looked at Zu An in distress, saying, “Ah Zu, let’s give up. The emperor is the most powerful man in the world! It’s useless no matter how we resist. The only thing I’m grateful for is that I can die with you. We lived different lives, but we can rest together, so I have no regrets. You have to hold my hand tightly when we cross the yellow springs of hell, so that we might truly become husband and wife in our next life…”

Zu An frowned. He had felt as if something was wrong from the beginning, but he had never had the time to think about it. Now that he was locked down by this terrifying pressure, in this final moment before death, he suddenly recovered his wits. He suddenly raised his head and completely disregarded that descending palm. He pointed at that dragon robed man in the sky, exclaiming, “You aren’t the emperor!”

Then, his palm struck the body of Yun Yuqing, who had been clinging to his arm.