Mi Li was stunned into silence for a moment.

You have successfully trolled Mi Li for 1024 Rage points!

“Brat, you’re courting death!”

She was absolutely livid. Out of thin air, a ruler appeared in her hand, which she used to smack his head repeatedly. “You really want someone to call you ‘big brother’? Why don’t you say it yourself?!”

Ah Zu was beaten until bumps appeared all over his head. He covered his head and dodged for his life. This woman is too bloody fierce! She’s only a soul—why can she dish out physical attacks? This makes no sense!

“Ah Zu, what’s wrong?” Pei Mianman saw him muttering to himself weirdly, and then he seemed to be holding his head in pain. She rushed over to check on him. “Does the Heaven-Devouring Sutra have some type of side effect?”

“It’s nothing, it's nothing.” Zu An smiled in embarrassment. The beating she just dished out seemed to do much for Mi Li’s temper. When she saw Pei Mianman walk over, she returned to the Tai’e Sword and didn’t make another sound.

“That’s good. I was really scared.” Pei Mianman patted her chest, making it ripple.

Zu An offered some words of consolation, then suddenly noticed that there were two new strange bird diagrams inside of him and grew excited. Whenever he broke through a new rank, he would gain access to a strange bird. Grandgale, Hundredwarble and Blue Mallard had all proven extremely useful. He wondered what he would awaken this time.

The fifth rank formation looked like a phoenix, but this phoenix was entirely white, like a fairy draped in snow. Two small characters were engraved on the side. “Snow Phoenix!”

It was really beautiful!

Zu An sighed deeply. The other strange birds weren’t all that good-looking, but this Snow Phoenix was absolutely outstanding. If he could remove it and raise it as a pet, it would instantly charm every girl he met.

He thought especially of Chu Chuyan, who was also an ice element cultivator> This phoenix would be the perfect match for her. Unfortunately, he couldn’t give it away as a gift.

With a wave of his hand, the cry of a phoenix sounded, and a snow phoenix flew out. As expected, it left a trail of ice and snow wherever it went.

Pei Mianman was dazzled by the sight. “This bird is so pretty! And it even generates such extreme cold. Its power can’t be underestimated!”

“These are abilities that I can awaken once I reach a certain level.” Zu An didn’t hide this from her, and gave her a rough explanation of how it worked.

“You have so many strange abilities. Even I am getting jealous,” Pei Mianman said, but her expression was full of happiness. “It’s a pity that you didn’t awaken the ice element. The power of this ability would surely be even greater.”

A sudden thought struck Zu An. He had only summoned these strange birds on their own previously, and had never thought about pairing them with their corresponding elements.

No wonder he felt as though Blue Mallard's ability wasn’t too special, and only gave him some affinity with the water element. It seemed that these strange birds only revealed their greatest power when they were paired with their corresponding elements!

He wanted to give it a try, but none of these birds were of the fire element. Right now, he could only borrow Daji’s fire element.

Then what about the other strange bird I’ve unlocked?

Zu An looked at the sixth rank formation, and noticed that its imprint was shaped like a peacock. Its feathers were beautiful, and its tail feathers were exceptionally long. Its two wings were covered in many eye-shaped patterns, colored orange and white.

He saw its name next to it: Blue Luan!

Zu An was curious. What did this bird do?

He summoned it, and as soon as its blue figure appeared, it cried towards the sky, “I don’t fear death, I will fight!”

It looked as though it was going to challenge the entire world.

Zu An was bewildered.

This bird can talk?

Zu An tried to communicate with it, but apart from repeating these words, it couldn’t actually speak.

As it cried out, however, its entire body turned into a giant sword. It rushed into the sky, and then crashed back down from the heavens. The incredibly powerful sword ki that it released could be sensed even from far away.

There was a loud boom, and the surrounding area was carpeted in craters the size of basketball courts.

The plants and trees around those craters were all blown to dust, leaving no traces of life behind. In addition, the ground within the craters was covered in fine cracks, as if it had been sundered by the sword ki.

A wave of weakness swept through Zu An, causing him to stumble slightly. This was clearly not a technique he could use often.

Thankfully, it was very powerful. He could use it as his killing move.

Pei Mianman’s jaws had fallen wide open with shock. “Who knows how many times stronger this move would be if you were a metal element cultivator! Isn’t your strength increasing way too fast?”

Zu An felt as though he’d just upgraded all his gear. He’d learned the Heaven Devouring Sutra and sucked away all of Mosquito Daoist’s cultivation, and even obtained these two new skills as well. He was overjoyed.

He pulled Pei Mianman to him. “Manman, you’re so smart! I never thought about using my own elemental ability with these skills!”

Pei Mianman blushed. She felt as though her observation wasn’t of much use. After all, he seemed to have awakened the fire element ability…

She was just about to say something when his lips pressed tightly against hers.

She moaned, and her entire body went limp. She enthusiastically embraced the man holding her up.

“Ahem, ahem…”

A light cough interrupted them. The two of them subconsciously turned around and saw a large group of people standing nearby.

At the center was an incredibly pale, middle-aged man. His dark red robes and his lightning sharp eyes lent him a sinister, icy-cold aura. Right now, though, he wore a strange expression on his face.

This was the leader of the Embroidered Envoy—Zhuxie Chixin!

Despite this, the two of them weren’t looking at him right now. Rather, they were staring at the woman whose white clothes were as beautiful as gentle snowfall in winter.

The woman was standing still, calmly watching them. A gentle breeze lifted the corners of her dress and set her fine black hair fluttering. She looked like a snow lotus that bloomed on a great glacier, crystal clear and elegant.

An ambiguous smile graced her beautiful face as she looked at them.

Her eyes were clearly extremely cold, yet Pei Mianman felt as if she was being burned. She immediately pushed the man in her arms away and backed up a few steps. “Chu… Chuyan,” she greeted her guiltily.

A thoughtful expression appeared on Chu Chuyan’s face. “Did I come at a bad time?”

Zu An really wanted to channel Xiaoli Feidao right now and say ‘No, you came at the perfect time’ before spreading his arms wide.

After some hesitation, however, he decided that he didn’t want to die just yet.

Pei Mianman felt incredibly gloomy inside. Chu Chuyan had already divorced him, so why did she still feel so guilty?

She was about to say something, but Chu Chuyan walked over to them, causing her to lose all confidence.

When he noticed how red her face was, Zu An realized that now wasn’t the time to hide as a man. “I…”

Before he could even explain himself, though, his nose was filled with a fragrant aroma. Chu Chuyan had already thrown herself into his arms.

Zu An was stunned. Chu Chuyan had always been cold and emotionless, whether it was because she cultivated the Snowflake Sword or if it was her natural disposition. This was the first time he had seen her so emotional, especially when in front of so many people.

“Ah Zu, I’m happy as long as you guys are okay.” Chu Chuyan’s body was shaking slightly. She embraced him tightly, as if she was scared that he might disappear at any moment.

Zu An felt a wave of tenderness surge within him, and he clung to her tightly in return.

The two of them had just gotten married when their clan had been thrown into turmoil. They were forced to separate for a long time, and had only just been reunited.

They held each other as if no one else was here. All the surrounding warriors watched silently, each of them feeling the urge to cry.

These soldiers had already been completely enamored by Chu Chuyan after traveling with her.

Even though they knew that she had married before, it was irrelevant when it came to someone this beautiful.

Besides, it was common knowledge that the wedding had been annulled, and that Chu Chuyan was single again.

Despite feeling that this woman was way beyond their league, their male instincts still made them simp after her, and they had been at her beck and call for most of their journey.

This was especially so after Zu An went missing. Many of them spoke words of consolation to her, but they were actually secretly delighted.

No one expected this fellow to make a return!

Even so, his reappearance was of little consequence. The emperor had already ordered his arrest, so he was dead for sure.

Furthermore, everyone had seen him with another woman, and young miss Chu had even caught them in the act.

Hmph! Miss Chu definitely saw how much of a playboy this man is and won’t care about him anymore. We finally have a chance!

Wait, hold on… what is going on? Why isn’t it going as expected?

You’re at least supposed to slap his face a few times, right?

Or maybe teach this mistress a lesson!

Wait, this mistress is quite pretty. She doesn’t seem to be inferior to young miss Chu in any way. Her chest is massive as well…

Uh… I guess we can’t blame Zu An…

Zu An’s mood immediately improved when he saw the Rage points pouring in. These fellows really knew how to welcome him!

Zhuxie Chixin coughed. He clearly didn’t feel comfortable watching this public display of affection. “Where is Mosquito Daoist?”

Chu Chuyan quickly sent Zu An a voice transmission. “When we heard that you guys were being chased by the Mosquito Daoist, we tried to find you as quickly as possible. However, we were too late, and saw her disappear into the dungeon with you two. We couldn’t go inside the dungeon and could only wait outside. We rushed over immediately after sensing the ki eruptions over here.”

Zu An gave her a grateful look. Then, he said to Zhuxie Chixin, “Mosquito Daoist got away not too long ago.”

“She ran away? She didn’t go after you?” Zhuxie Chixin was clearly still suspicious. “Then why are there traces of battle all around us?”

Zu An obviously didn’t want to give away his trump cards. Pei Mianman stepped in to cover for him. “Two mysterious experts appeared to fend off Mosquito Daoist. They left just before you arrived.”

“Mysterious experts?” Zhuxie Chixin looked around. One of the experts should be a  metal element cultivator wielding a sword, while the other was an ice element cultivator. “Who were they? Why did they save you?”

Pei Mianman shook her head. “I don’t know. We didn’t have time to ask them anything.”

She secretly gestured towards Zu An while speaking. The plan was to muddy the waters further and let him guess the identities of those two mysterious experts.

Sure enough, Zhuxie Chixin fell deep into thought. Countless possibilities appeared in his mind, but he rejected them one after another. His head began to throb, but he still couldn’t figure it out.

“We’ll take the criminals back to the capital first.” Zhuxie Chixin said. He would investigate this matter using the Embroidered Envoy’s information network, but only after bringing them back with him. He will find out who dared interfere in this matter.

Zu An wasn’t planning on running to begin with, so he cooperated with them.

Chu Chuyan walked over to Pei Mianman and said with a smile, “Manman, isn’t there something you ought to tell me?”

Pei Mianman panicked. In the end, she decided to lay it all out in the open. “Chuyan, Ah Zu and I have already become a true husband and wife in the dungeon.”

Either way, Chu Chuyan and Zu An had already divorced each other. She might as well use this chance to solidify their relationship. That way, she wouldn’t have to subconsciously avoid this woman when she saw her in the future.

“A real husband and wife?” Chu Chuyan gave her a look. “But you’re clearly still a virgin.”

Pei Mianman was stunned into silence.

Only now did she realize that, even though they had lived as husband and wife throughout several generations and tried almost everything, it was their souls that had entered that trial. In the real world, she was still a virgin!

Pei Mianman’s face immediately became red. She was both ashamed and annoyed. That scoundrel is actually going to take my chastity three times!