“She’s a ghost, I guess. A human being shouldn’t be able to survive for so long,” replied Zu An after a moment of contemplation.

“Is that so?” remarked ‘Chu Chuyan’ as she prepared to sink her sharp fingernails into his heart.

“However, I think she’s quite a pitiful person. She was sealed away, all alone in this forlorn underground palace for several millennia, without even a single person to talk to,” Zu An suddenly added.

“Pitiful?” ‘Chu Chuyan’ halted her movements.

“Indeed, honey. I’ll promise you that I’ll never treat you the way that Ying Zheng treated her,” vowed Zu An.

“What’s the use of such a promise? As soon as our interests diverge, you’ll surely turn your back on me,” sneered ‘Chu Chuyan’.

Zu An sensed that there was something weird about the way Chu Chuyan was speaking. It almost felt as if he was talking to another woman cloaked in Chu Chuyan’s skin. However, this thought was swiftly driven out of his mind. It was probably expected that Chu Chuyan would act differently, after what she had just been through.

He couldn’t help but heap scorn on himself.

How can I be thinking of other women while I’m with her? That’s too greedy!

“Don’t worry, I’m not that kind of person.” Zu An thought that Chu Chuyan was just feeling insecure, having just had her first intimate experience, so he chose to console her instead. “Besides, how could our interests diverge? We’re a couple; everything of mine is yours. There’s nothing between us.”

“I guess so.” ‘Chu Chuyan’ chuckled softly. “You sure have a glib tongue.”

“Can we not talk about other matters now and focus on what we’re doing instead?” said Zu An as he leaned in closer to kiss her.

‘Chu Chuyan’ tilted her head to the side, dodging his kiss. Sensing the current condition of her body, she couldn’t help but frown in displeasure. I thought that this body would have already been fully recovered. Isn’t she far too slow at this?! How could she have failed to repair her ki meridians after such a long time? Just what in the world has she been doing all this while?

Left with no choice, she stubbornly tolerated the man thrusting himself against her as she continued to restore her body.

She was the empress of the Qin Dynasty after all, so such acts weren’t foreign to her. In the past, in order to resolve a threat plaguing the northwest borders of the Qin Country, her ancestor, Empress Xuan Mi Bazi, took the extreme measure of offering her body up to the King of Yiqu and bore two sons for him.

After the Qin Country finally gained strength, she found an opportune moment to kill the King of Yiqu, thus resolving the threat of the Yiqu once and for all.

This set a precedent for the women of the Qin Dynasty’s imperial family. They viewed their bodies as no more than tools to be used to achieve a greater goal. This wasn’t to say that Mi Li had ever used it with that intent before, just that she wasn’t as resistant to the idea.

Besides, she had no qualms about betraying Ying Zheng at all. In fact, she would love more than anything for him to witness this sight with his own eyes, and hopefully turn in his grave.

Meanwhile, Zu An was a little surprised by Chu Chuyan’s reaction. He hadn’t expected her to reject his kiss, and then, for a moment there, she had an extremely unfamiliar expression on her face.

Fearing that he would see through her disguise, ‘Chu Chuyan’ chose to change the topic. “Hey, who do you think is more beautiful, me or Mi Li?”

“You, of course!” replied Zu An without hesitation.

‘Chu Chuyan’ was momentarily stunned by his swift response.

“Is that so?” ‘Chu Chuyan’ sneered coldly as her fingernails began stretching outward once more.

Zu An paused for a moment before adding, “To be honest, I was just saying those words to flatter you. Mi Li’s beauty isn’t inferior to yours; the two of you just have different styles. You have a cool, refreshing disposition, whereas she’s noble and majestic. It’s hard to compare the two of you…”

The corners of ‘Chu Chuyan’s’ lips finally curved upwards, displaying her satisfaction with his response. However, she soon noticed something and asked with a frown, “Why did your body suddenly become so agitated when I started talking about her?”

It was Zu An’s turn to be stunned.

He never expected Chu Chuyan to be so sensitive as to detect minor changes in his body. This sudden realization left him feeling incredibly awkward. He didn’t know how to explain this, since it would be disastrous of him to explain to his own wife how he’d ended up thinking about another woman while getting hot and steamy with her.

Fortunately, ‘Chu Chuyan’ didn’t continue probing. She moved her hands down and wrapped them around his waist.

Zu An was more than delighted by her invitation. All this while, she had been silently complying with whatever he was doing to her, and he wasn’t able to understand what her true thoughts were. However, her sudden proactiveness dislodged the boulder of unease weighing on his heart, and he finally let go of his restraint and went all out.

‘Chu Chuyan’ found herself getting overwhelmed by Zu An’s furious assault. She rolled her eyes in fury. Isn’t this woman far too weak? Why can’t she even deal with this much?

You have successfully trolled Mi Li for 233 Rage points!

Zu An was stunned. 

Mi Li? Hasn’t she already left the area? Is she secretly eavesdropping somewhere nearby?

Alarmed, he quickly searched the area, but Mi Li was nowhere to be seen.

“What are you doing?” asked ‘Chu Chuyan’.

“Say, is it possible for Mi Li to be hiding in the area, secretly watching the two of us?” asked Zu An with a frown.

‘Chu Chuyan’ felt her heart skip a beat. “I don’t think so. Didn’t she leave earlier? What made you think that she’s still in the area?”

Zu An shook his head and said, “Well, I hope that I’m thinking too much into it too.”

‘Chu Chuyan’ replied with a little grunt before actively wrapping her limbs around the man on top of her, feeding the furnace dominating Zu An’s mind. With such a beautiful woman seducing him, it didn’t take long for all other miscellaneous thoughts to disappear from his mind.

She quietly placed her hand on Zu An’s waist and pressed her slender fingers down softly, causing Zu An’s body to shudder with pleasure. He soon succumbed, and his yang energy was swiftly pumped into her body, amalgamating with her yin energy.

‘Chu Chuyan’ had no qualms with using her body as a tool—in any case, this was hardly her own body—but this body was simply too weak to endure the tempering of the primordial ki.

She disliked the feeling of her life being held in the hands of another person, especially since Zu An was no more than an ant in her eyes. Her pride would not allow her to be dominated by a man of his caliber. She felt that a mere tool ought to remain as nothing more than a tool.

Therefore, she used her secret art to prematurely unleash his yang energy, before swiftly pushing him away to quietly assimilate his blood essence and primordial ki.

Zu An was eagerly hoping to continue their intimate encounter, but the abrupt rejection left his heart feeling a little empty. However, he tried to look at the situation from another perspective. Perhaps Chu Chuyan wasn’t sure how to face him right now.

This thought made the situation far more acceptable to him.

He noticed that Chu Chuyan had turned her attention back to cultivation, and he felt a burst of respect for her. As expected of a true prodigy. She really doesn’t let go of any opportunity to cultivate.

It seemed the accumulated fatigue of going through battle after battle had finally caught up to him. Zu An suddenly felt a little drowsy, and before he knew it, he had already dozed off.

‘Chu Chuyan’ opened her eyes to glance at him. She hesitated for a moment before sitting back down to focus on repairing her ki meridians. I’ll decide on my next course of action after fully harmonizing my soul with this body.

Some time later, Zu An suddenly felt a chill against his throat. He immediately opened his eyes, only to see that Chu Chuyan had put her clothes back on, assuming her usual cold demeanor. She was standing before the altar with a sword pressed against his neck. Her expression looked a little unusual, as if she was conflicted over something.

Zu An was immediately jolted awake, all traces of grogginess gone. He dared not to move carelessly, afraid that any sudden movements would agitate the other party into ending his life. So, he asked carefully, “Honey, what are you doing?”

‘Chu Chuyan’ sneered coldly and said, “I can’t allow a man who has had his way with my body to continue existing in this world.”

Zu An was stunned.

The hell! Are you serious?

“I went through so much hardship in order to save you, yet you’re going to kill me over this? Don’t you think you’re being a little too ungrateful?” exclaimed Zu An.

‘Chu Chuyan’ felt her face redden, and she snapped furiously, “Do you really consider that ‘hardship’?”

Zu An also felt that he had, to some extent, taken advantage of the situation earlier, so he scratched his head sheepishly and said, “Putting that aside, everything else that I did before should mean something, right? I mean, I almost died several times trying to save you!”

‘Chu Chuyan’ snorted coldly and said, “There’s no need to feel too wronged about this. You’ve just enjoyed something which few men would ever have the pleasure of enjoying in their entire lifetime. With that knowledge, you should be able to die in peace.”

Zu An shook his head and said, “That wouldn’t do. I’m not the kind of man to give up an entire forest for a tree. You said it yourself. You don’t mind me looking for another woman. If you no longer want to be with me, we can split up and live our own separate lives. Is there a need for you to be so callous with me?”

‘Chu Chuyan’ was stunned. She never expected the two of them to have such a bizarre promise, although what infuriated her more was Zu An’s attitude toward this matter.

Why are you acting so self-righteously when speaking about cheating on your own wife?

You have successfully trolled Mi Li for 404 Rage points!

The sudden influx of Rage points from Mi Li shocked Zu An once more. He stared at Chu Chuyan intently, a contemplative look on his face.

“A man like you is only going to be a scourge upon the world. For the sake of all womankind, I shall eliminate you here!” ‘Chu Chyuan’ sent her sword darting straight toward Zu An’s neck. She knew that, given his current strength, there was no way that Zu An would be able to dodge this strike.

But, to her astonishment, her attack met empty air.

She glared at Zu An coldly and said, “You anticipated my attack and dodged it in advance?”

How could he know that I would make a move against him? Even before I moved my sword, he had already moved sideways to dodge!

Zu An felt cold sweat dripping down his back as he murmured fearfully, “Big sis empress, it’s actually you!”

‘Chu Chuyan’ was stunned. “How did you know it’s me?”

Given her standing and cultivation rank, she couldn’t even be bothered to lie to Zu An to deceive him. She was confident that she was in control of the situation, and that Zu An couldn’t possibly hope to turn the tables on her.

Hearing her admission, Zu An felt his heart sink. “What did you do to Chuyan?”

“Chuyan? Needless to say, she’s dead.” ‘Chu Chuyan’ raised her hands to look at her own slender hands. “I have to admit that her body is really pretty good. She might be weak right now, but her aptitude is decent. She barely meets the mark for my new body.”

Upon hearing that Chu Chuyan was dead, Zu An turned stone-cold. “You had this in mind right from the start, when you imparted that formula to her!”