Seeing that her secret was about to be exposed, Yan Xuehen’s mind went completely blank. 

I’m done for! I’m finished! I’m going to be ridiculed to death by that witch.

Why is Yu Yanluo looking at me like that?

And… How will my disciple Chuyan look at me once she finds out?

This will even cause White Jade Sect’s reputation to be greatly damaged. I’ll also become the target of everyone’s mockery.

She even felt the urge to just end her own life.

Fortunately, Zu An reacted quickly and covered Mo Xi’s mouth.

“Mmm… Mmm…” Mo Xi’s next words were muffled.

Normally, with her cultivation, there was no way Zu An would be able to touch her. However, because she was weak and seriously injured, she couldn't avoid it in time.

She was a bit annoyed at first, but when she saw Zu An and Yan Xuehen’s reactions, she immediately understood. These two had a private thing going! Her gossipy heart immediately prevailed. Her eyes darted between the two of them, to the point that she didn’t even mind the physical contact.

Yun Jianyue frowned and asked, “Are the two of them lovers? Little An, what are you covering her mouth for?”

Zu An quickly said, “It’s mainly because her current condition isn’t too good. She was seriously injured to begin with, and she even had to exhaust more of her energy. I was worried that she would overexert herself and want her to rest earlier.”

At the same time, he said to Mo Xi, “Go back already. Your current state isn’t good.”

Mo Xi replied, “It’s fine. This bit won’t make much of a difference. I want to see this drama for myself.”

Zu An was speechless.

When she saw Zu An grit his teeth in anger, Mo Xi grinned. She secretly replied, “Of course, it’s fine if I play along, but you have to pay up. Use those fruits from before. A hundred of them, no, two hundred!”

Even though she hadn’t eaten them before, her body had a powerful memory of them. She couldn't help but drool.

Zu An knew she was talking about the Ki Fruits. He didn’t have time to bargain and thus replied. “Fine!”

Just then, Yu Yanluo said, “Ah Zu, Mo Xi is weak right now. Don’t end up hurting her now by holding her mouth.”

Zu An thought to himself, You clearly just want to hear what she has to say, and yet you’re making it sound so high-minded! When did you become so two-faced too?

But you’re still an amateur! I’ve already dealt with the situation!

Yun Jianyue urged him impatiently, “Little An, hurry up and let go of her. Don’t tell me you guys really have something shameful going on?”

Yan Xuehen looked at Zu An nervously. She nodded slightly, her eyes filled with a pleading expression. If Zu An continued to cover Mo Xi’s mouth, the others could only have suspicions at most. She would just refute everything. However, if Mo Xi spoke, they really were finished.

Zu An smiled at her. Then, he let go of Mo Xi’s mouth.

Yan Xuehen was speechless. She was about to go crazy! This bastard!

“There’s really nothing. If you don’t believe me, you can ask her,” Zu An said with a shrug.

Yun Jianyue and Yu Yanluo immediately stared at Mo Xi, asking, “What did you say before? Lovers?”

Mo Xi replied with a smile, “They have strong feelings of camaraderie. The agreement was probably made to face a strong enemy. Hm? Why do you two feel as if they’re lovers?”

Zu An secretly gave her a huge thumbs up. As expected of history’s renowned evil concubine! Even though she looked like a formidable female general from the outside, she really was the real deal when she set her heart on doing something like this!

“Is that so?” Yu Yanluo replied, sounding a bit confused. She just felt that something wasn’t right.

“Just what kind of agreement can be used against a powerful enemy? Why haven’t I heard of it before?” Yun Jianyue asked; she wasn’t so easily fooled. Her eyes darted between Zu An and Yan Xuehen.

Yan Xuehen also reacted just then. She was worried that Zu An would let something slip. It was very hard to deceive a grandmaster like Yun Jianyue, so she said, “Back then, we encountered a snow lady in the Great Snowy Mountains. She was in the earth immortal realm and we weren’t a match for her, so we used a secret skill contract. That was how we barely managed to escape.”

“Is that so? I fought against you for so many years, but why have I never heard of your White Jade Sect having such a secret contract?” Yun Jianyue asked with a frown. She and Yu Yanluo had heard about the snow lady thing before, but they hadn’t expected there to be something like that involved.

Yan Xuehen’s heart was beating crazily, but she didn’t let anything show on her face. She replied, “It was not the White Jade Sect. I stumbled upon it in a secret dungeon in my earlier years. Hmph, why am I even explaining this to you? Why do I have to tell you about my trump cards?!”

She was worried that Yun Jianyue would try to confirm things with the White Jade Sect, so she didn’t dare to say it was from them.

Yun Jianyue was half-convinced, but Yu Yanluo suddenly said, “Does it mean that for all this time, you and Ah Zu’s energies were connected?”

No wonder she had felt that there was something strange between the two of them. Looks like I was overthinking after all.

The question caught Zu An and Yan Xuehen off guard. Yan Xuehen’s face almost turned beet red. What do you mean connected?

They had indeed been ‘connected’ in the Great Snowy Mountains… However, Yan Xuehen quickly explained, “Of course not. We just had to use a makeshift strategy. Afterward, we did not use it again. This secret technique is special, and I could not get rid of it either. That is why we troubled Lady Mo Xi.”

Mo Xi grinned. This woman appeared to be quiet and refined, so she had thought that Yan Xuehen would be an inflexible woman. In truth, she now felt the other woman was just as tricky as her.

Only after Yan Xuehen’s explanations were the other two  women half-convinced. Zu An quickly took the chance to drag Mo Xi back into the special space.

Just then, a powerful burst of energy suddenly rippled from the distance.

“A battle between earth immortals!” Yun Jianyue exclaimed. She couldn't be bothered with gossip anymore. Her attention was quickly drawn by the strange event.

Yan Xuehen secretly sighed in relief, saying, “That seems to be the Fiend Emperor’s power.”

Yun Jianyue nodded, adding, “He seems to be fighting against something powerful. The opponent’s cultivation isn’t inferior to his.”

Yu Yanluo couldn't help but say with a sigh, “This secret dungeon has way too many powerful cultivators. Ah Zu, just how did you leave those other Unknown Regions alive?”

Zu An said with a grave expression, “Every single Unknown Region has a formation core. Only by dealing with that formation core can we leave. Otherwise, we’ll be trapped in this secret dungeon forever.”

“Where is this formation core exactly? We’ve already repeated Yi’s heroic path, and we’ve even dealt with the ten suns. Afterward, we were even caught up in the severing of the path of heaven and man. Why can’t we leave yet?” Yun Jianyue asked in annoyance. They had done so much already, and yet all of it seemed to be useless.

Most importantly, there were no mission indicators at all in the Unknown Region, so they didn’t even know where to put their efforts now. This world was incredibly large, so they couldn't even brute force it and could only search every inch of the place.

Zu An thought for a bit, then said, “Based on my past experiences, every Unknown Region corresponds to an ancient dynasty. They’re often connected to certain rulers of that dynasty. Some are the founding emperors, while some are the rulers of the final phase.

“The one who died just now was the last ruler of the Xia Dynasty. Oh, right, Mo Xi was the empress back then. So, this Unknown Region might very well be related to the Xia Dynasty. If Xia Jie wasn’t the formation core, it’s clear what the core’s real identity is.”

“Who is it?” the three women asked, feeling a bit stunned. They didn’t know anything about those dynasties, and they were also curious how Zu An knew about such things.

“Do you still remember that when Shun told us to repeat the heroic path and obtain the divine weapon, he told us who to use it against?” Zu An asked, looking into the distance with a serious expression.

“Xia Dynasty’s founding monarch Yu the Great?” the three women replied simultaneously. Even though they didn’t know the Xia Dynasty’s history, they all had extraordinary memories. They remembered what Shun had said back then. “However, because of the separation of heaven and the mortal world, Shun has already returned to dust. Where can we find Yu the Great?”

Zu An replied with a grim expression, “Do you feel that the Fiend Emperor is a stupid person?”

“Of course not,” Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue both said in unison. “On the contrary, he’s one of the most brilliant individuals in the present world. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have become one of this world’s two most powerful people.”

“In that case, we’ve already learned so much. Then what about the incredible Fiend Emperor?” Zu An asked.

The three women’s eyes lit up. They began, “You’re saying…”

“If I’m not mistaken, we’ve only solved half of this Unknown Region’s secrets.” Zu An paused for a moment, then said with a grave expression, “The other half is most likely in the Fiend Emperor’s hands!”