Zu An clicked his tongue. “Isn’t it normal for me to be hiding things from you? It’s not as if you’re my wife. You sure are nosey for an outsider.”

Qiao Xueying was struck speechless by his reply.

You have successfully trolled Qiao Xueying for 666 Rage points!

Damn it, I really want to beat this fellow up!

Qiao Xueying summoned her inner nirvana to suppress her rage before asking, “How did you know that he’s going to look for Wu Guang? It’s almost as if you know what’s going to happen next.”

“Oh? Why are you calling me ‘you’ instead of ‘big brother’?” remarked Zu An in dissatisfaction. “Anyway, regarding your question, it’s simply because I’m smart. In time to come, you’ll realize that I have many more wondrous abilities in store.” 

“Look at how gleefully you’re behaving!” Qiao Xueying said with a snort. Despite her sharp words, she was still in a good mood, since Zu An had stepped forward and saved the Chen Village at her request, so she decided not to hold this against him. “I wonder when the seal will be removed.”

“We might need to wait for confirmation from the imperial palace first.” Zu An was still a little uneasy about this. He wasn’t sure whether his plan would really work out or not.

Meanwhile, Lord Wang had finished falsifying the crime scene. He activated his Communication Mirror to relay the statements he had prepared beforehand to the imperial court. 

A short while later, the area around Zu An suddenly began to distort, and the familiar feeling of weightlessness enveloped him. By the time it faded, the two of them were already back in the familiar underground palace.

“The two of you are actually unharmed… You were actually able to overcome the Heaven Seal so easily!” Mi Li’s voice sounded in Zu An’s ears, carrying both surprise and delight. It seemed she hadn’t believed that the two of them would be able to overcome the trials within the three seals.

Easy? Was it really easy?

Zu An thought about all he had had to go through in order to overcome the Heaven Seal. To be fair, it had indeed not been as difficult as the previous two seals. This trial had not been a challenge of cultivation or combat prowess, but of sharp judgment and… luck.

Zu An had been extremely lucky that he’d chosen to help the villagers in the end, and his existing awareness of the fact that Chen Sheng had to survive was also instrumental. There was no way else he could have figured out the only way to survive the ordeal.

Had it been another cultivator who was unaware of the history involved—no, even if it had been another transmigrator who possessed the same knowledge as him—it was almost a certainty that they would have ended up dying in there.

While Zu An was still brooding over this matter, the seal formation on the ground opened up, revealing a pitch-black hole.

“The three seals have been breached. You should be able to emerge now, right?” asked Zu An.

“My coffin is within the next level below. I need you to pull out the sword on my coffin in order to fully release the seal,” replied Mi Li.

Zu An was just about to head down when Qiao Xueying caught his hand and warned, “Be careful.”

Zu An nodded. “You should wait for me here. If anything happens, lure the black-armored general here right away, and get those two dogs to attack one another… Ah, that won’t work either, huh? If she really intends to harm us, I suppose you won’t have time to run away. Let’s do this instead. For the time being, you should return to Chuyan’s side to stall for some time. If you don’t see me after the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, you should inform the black-armored general of what’s happening down here.”

Qiao Xueying was reluctant to heed Zu An’s instructions. “No. I’ll accompany you down there. At the very least, we’ll be able to look out for one another.”

“That won’t do. You won’t be a match for her even if you follow me down there. Haven’t you heard of the saying ‘don’t put all of your eggs in one basket’?” said Zu An with a shake of his head.

Qiao Xueying fell silent. She was no match for Zhang Han, let alone Mi Li. If Mi Li really intended to harm them, her presence wouldn’t make a difference at all. The wiser move was indeed to have her stay above, so that they would have a card to play against Mi Li if the worst-case scenario occurred. “All right then. Take care of yourself.”

Zu An nodded back at her before carefully jumping down to the next level. It was a small, enclosed area with a luminescent crystal coffin lying in the center.

He was just about to head towards it when a cold voice suddenly echoed in his ears, “Who were you calling a dog earlier on?”

“Ah, you heard it all?” Zu An felt his cheeks warming with embarrassment. It was always awkward to be caught speaking badly about someone else.

Mi Li sighed deeply and said, “Old people tend to have sharp ears. Somehow, I’m always able to hear it when someone speaks badly about me.”

Zu An reverted back to his usual shameless self and rambled on, “As expected of Your Majesty, your cultivation has indeed reached an unprecedented level which I can only envy. Ah, my respect for you gushes like the relentless tides of the Yellow River. I can’t even begin to fathom anyone else coming close to your greatness!”

Mi Li was silent for a moment, seemingly taken aback by the torrent of bullshit.

“Hmph. Your glib tongue reminds me of Zhao Gao[1]. It’s displeasing,” snorted Mi Li.

Zu An was rendered speechless. He never thought that a day would come where he would be compared to Zhao Gao, and the blow was doubly hard since he knew that Zhao Gao was a eunuch.

That’s a low blow, a low blow!

“Enough! Hurry up and retrieve the sword that’s floating in mid-air,” said Mi Li. “That sword is the energy source for the Soul Suppression Seal. Anyone else who approaches the sword would have been pierced by its sword ki before they could even get close, but since you’ve managed to breach the Soul Suppression Formation and obtained its recognition, it poses no threat to you.”

“This isn’t another trap, is it?” Zu An was intimidated after hearing how formidable the sword was.

“What do I have to gain from fooling you? I’m hoping to break out of this seal as well. Besides, you don’t have time to spare. Zhang Han has already successfully suppressed the dead spirits and will soon be returning to your wife’s side to conduct the blood ritual,” said Mi Li.

The image of Chu Chuyan lying helplessly on the altar came to mind. Zu An gritted his teeth and made his way toward the crystal coffin. He noticed that there were nine ropes made out of some sort of metal coiled around the crystal coffin. These ropes were connected to an ancient sword that was floating in mid-air, its tip pointing down at the coffin.

Even before he got close, he could already sense a powerful pressure gushing in his direction, filling his heart with the urge to show deference. He gathered his willpower and resisted the urge to kneel.

You must be kidding me! As a proud transmigrator, how could I kneel to a mere sword?! 

Standing above the immortals, gazing loftily upon the world, I shall dominate heaven with my Keyboard in hand. There may be millions of keyboard warriors in the world, but all shall lower their heads in my presence, for none can hope to match me, the Keyboard Emperor. 

Zu An murmured these words to cheer himself on. It may have had a psychological effect on him, since the pressure weighing down on him actually began to lessen, eventually reaching a point where it felt negligible.

“Hm? You’re actually able to withstand the pressure of the Tai’e Sword?” exclaimed Mi Li in surprise.

“Tai’e Sword?” Zu An was surprised by how familiar the name of the sword was. Isn’t this one of the ten most famous swords in history?

“Indeed. The Tai’e Sword is a Sword of Kingship, which has existed since the inception of the world. At that point in time, it was formless and unnoticeable. However, its sword ki was already in existence all over the world, merely awaiting an opportune moment to gather. In the hands of the right person, and at the right time in the right place, this sword was formed. It took two master swordsmiths of our Chu Country to forge this sword. One of our kings once slew thousands of soldiers with this sword in hand…”

Mi Li’s voice reflected her admiration for her ancestors.

“Unfortunately, when the Chu Country was finally defeated by the Qin Country, this sword ended up falling into Ying Zheng’s hands. Ironically, he ended up using this sword to seal me away.”

Zu An looked warily at the sword floating above the coffin. He was convinced that the sword in front of him was different from the one he’d read about in his previous life. This sword didn’t seem to belong in the mortal world; it felt more like a weapon that had come right out of a legend or a novel.

Instead of retrieving the sword right away, he said, “To be frank with you, Your Majesty, I’m a little hesitant about this. I’m worried that you might renege on your promise to save my wife after I let you out. After all, we have no way to curb you, given your cultivation.” 

“You don’t have a choice. Zhang Han is already walking to the altar at this moment. Your wife is going to die if you don’t free me soon,” sneered Mi Li.

“I don’t deny that I’m anxious to save my wife, but aren’t you even more anxious than me? I wonder how long you’ve been sealed in here for. A thousand years? Two thousand years? Or perhaps even ten thousand years? When will your next opportunity come if you fail to grasp this one?”

Mi Li fell into a state of silence. She was clearly not as calm as she appeared to be. “Indeed, this is a rare opportunity for me as well. What do I have to do in order to earn your trust then?”

It was Zu An’s turn to be put in a spot. He had no idea what he could use to bind Mi Li to her part of the agreement. He recalled the lines he’d read about in the novels in his previous life and gave it a try. “Why don’t we sign a master-servant contract? You won’t be able to hurt me or anymore in the future as long as you acknowledge me as your master.”

“Hahaha!” Mocking laughter echoed in the room for a moment before Mi Li sneered coldly, “Who do you think you are to make me acknowledge you as your master? Even Ying Zheng was unable to make me submit, let alone a kid like you!”

Black lines streaked across Zu An’s face as he exclaimed, “Hey, that’s too much! You’re the one who told me to suggest something, and now you’re getting angry at me for proposing an idea. What do you say we should do, then?”

Mi Li pondered for a moment before she replied, “Let’s do this instead. Grab a piece of paper and we’ll seal a contract with our respective terms. In exchange for helping me out of this coffin, I’ll promise to save your wife and, neither hurt you nor the other two women. I’m sure you’re aware that such contracts have binding power in this world. Not even I will be able to renege on it.”

This wasn’t the first time Zu An had heard of this, so he nodded in agreement. “Very well! But where am I supposed to find paper here?”

“You fool! There’s no reason why paper is absolutely needed here. Can’t you write on your clothes as well? As for ink, you have plenty of wounds on your body. You can just use your blood as a substitute,” remarked Mi Li coldly.

Zu An was irritated by her snappish tone.

This old woman sure is cranky. If not for the fact that you’re my elder, I would have… 

Unfortunately, he was unable to think of anything significant he could have done to a person far stronger than he was.

Anyway, he quickly penned down the terms of the contract before frowning. “There’s only my palm print here. The contract wouldn’t be binding without yours, right?”

“You just have to bring it over for me to press my palm onto it,” said Mi Li.

“Where are you?” asked Zu An. He searched the area around him, but the voice sounded like it could have come from anywhere.

“You really are an utter fool through and through. Aren’t I in the crystal coffin right in front of you?!” bellowed Mi Li.

Zu An had no reply to that.

Damn it, it’s all because of this cranky old woman that I’m getting a bit dumb! 

He walked over to the crystal coffin sullenly as he wondered how Mi Li handled her daily needs inside the coffin. 

Wouldn’t she need to pee and poop as well? Ah, but she’s already dead, right? There’s probably nothing left of her but a dried-up corpse. Sheesh, I’ve always stayed away from horror stories and films in the past. Damn it, I hope that whatever is inside the coffin won’t be too scary… 

When he reached the coffin, though, he suddenly froze. What was lying inside the crystal coffin wasn’t a terrifying, desiccated corpse, but a woman far more beautiful than his wildest imaginings.