Zu An was speechless. What do you mean, all I did was sleep with an empress? What, are there a few more empresses I can sleep with out there?
Mi Li said, âI heard most of your conversation with that sly vixen, too. I reckon you were probably bullied quite badly by the emperor, and you were even flogged yesterday. That was why you poured out all of your revenge on the empress out of anger.â
Zu An was embarrassed as he said, âYouâve witnessed a poor side of me.â
Mi Liâs expression remained serious as she remarked, âNo, I think you did quite well.â
Zu An really was confused now. He really didnât know whether Mi Li was really angry, or if she was being ironic.
Mi Li could see through his thoughts. She harrumphed and said, âIâm being honest. Youâre destined to become this worldâs strongest man. How can you be afraid of the slightest thing? The emperor did whatever he wanted to you. Over time, he could leave behind a shadow in your heart, making you too scared to go against him.
âIt wasnât that big of an issue when your cultivation was lower, but at higher levels of cultivation, it could affect you more and more. It could even become an inner demon that would prevent you from making any progress.â
Zu An jumped in fright. âIs it really that bad?â
Mi Li replied, âLow level cultivators like you cultivate the body and ki. Once you reach a higher level, the main focus is on cultivating the soul. Cultivating the soul requires a powerful will. The stronger your heart, the easier it becomes to make your soul stronger. On the contrary, if there are gaps in your mentality, itâs easy for problems in your cultivation to arise.â
Zu An shivered inside. Mi Liâs cultivation level was incredibly high, so he trusted her experience. At the same time, he was glad that he had such an attractive teacher and friend to accompany him, which would save him a lot of time compared to others.
Mi Li continued, âI originally planned to find a chance to warn you about that, but you actually took this step on your own. Very good, youâre worthy of being⦠ahem, worthy of being the man whom I beat down so viciously, but still refused to yield.â
Zu An shook his head in embarrassment. âAll I did was sleep with a woman out of anger, yet youâre putting me on a pedestal. Iâm even getting a bit embarrassed.â
âSomeone as shameless as you can become embarrassed?â Mi Li rolled her eyes. She continued, âStill, you have to be careful. That vixen seems to have ulterior motives.â
Zu An looked a bit distressed as well. âI know she has other plans, but I just canât figure them out.â
Mi Li gave him a strange look. âShe wants your body, obviously.â
Zu An blushed. âYou shouldnât joke like that. Even though the two of us havenât done much, sheâs definitely not the type to do stupid things out of lust.â
Mi Li laughed and said, âWhat are you thinking about? I was talking about your transcendent aptitude.â
âTranscendent aptitude?â Zu An was stunned. He had almost forgotten about that.
Mi Li said, âShe seems to have some internal injuries, and she wants to use your body to heal herself. She seemed to have used some charming technique to take some of your blood essence, and that was what startled me awake. But because that method didnât hurt your foundation, I decided not to bother you.â
Zu An suddenly realized what was happening. No wonder it had felt as if there were countless little mouths sucking at him inside of the empressâ body! At the time, he had been amazed at just how amazing this woman felt, but it turned out she was using these tricks on him!
Mi Li sounded a bit confused as she continued, âYour transcendent aptitude blood makes your blood essence extremely useful to any cultivator. Under normal circumstances, thereâs no way she would let you go if she knew about it. She would have sucked you dry.â
Zu An subconsciously rubbed his neck, feeling some lingering fear.
Mi Li mused, âBut if she didnât know about your transcendent aptitude, then why would she make such a huge sacrifice? Why would she exchange her body for your blood essence?â
Zu Anâs thoughts moved quickly. He suddenly thought of something. âShe probably deduced something when she was talking to Chuyanâ¦â
Then, he gave her a rough explanation of how he had sent Chuyan to ask Liu Ning for help.
Mi Liâs brows furrowed slightly. âTell your stupid wife to not blab about how you healed her in the future. Otherwise, it might easily bring you great harm.â
âHow could she have anticipated that the empress would have such thoughts? Sheâs quite sharp normally. She was probably just a bit confused out of worry.â Zu An subconsciously defended Chu Chuyan.
Mi Liâs expression sank. âYou donât have to do that affection stuff in front of me. Sheâs not even here. I was just reminding you to be careful about this.â
Zu An saw that her expression was off and quickly said in apology, âOkay, Iâll warn her later.â As the mood was a bit strange, he quickly changed topics. âBy the way, did you already get rid of all of the poison?â
âHow can the Red Tears of Lady Xiang be that easy to get rid of?â Mi Li harrumphed. However, her expression still eased when she sensed his concern. âBut Iâve managed to get it under control. I wonât have to suddenly fall asleep again like before.â
Zu An was extremely happy to hear that. âThatâs great!â
Mi Li gave him an ambiguous look. âAre you being honest? Are you not scared of having another person constantly nagging you?â
Zu An chuckled. âOf course Iâm being honest. As for my business, you already saw it all anyway. Iâm quite fond of myself in that aspect, so itâs not as if Iâm scared of being seen.â
Mi Li had watched the entire thing between him and Chu Chuyan anyway. Wait, didnât she possess Chu Chuyan back then? Then doesnât that meanâ¦
Mi Liâs thoughts seemed to have reached a similar point. There was a blush on her pretty cheeks, and her expression was a bit unnatural as well. âAhem, who has the time to watch you? Let me make it clear right now, okay? Weâre still going to do things the way we did before. Donât rely on me when you encounter danger, or else youâll never become someone truly strong.â
âOkay.â Zu Anâs expression also softened when he looked at her.
Mi Li subconsciously tugged on her clothes. She couldnât help but feel that this fellow seemed to be able to see right through her. She quickly changed the topic. âRight, did you find any of the things I asked you to find?â
Zu An knew that she was talking about the treasures that could help her rebuild her body. âSorry, I looked through the Embroidered Envoy database, but I wasnât able to find any information.â
Mi LIâs brows furrowed. âCould it be that all of those ingredients already went extinct over time?â
Zu An consoled her. âThereâs no need for you to be too worried. Perhaps itâs just that their names changed over time. Donât worry, Iâll keep it in mind. Iâll have way more resources at my disposal in the future, so itâll become easier for me to find them.â
A smile returned to Mi Liâs face. âI guess you have some conscience. However, Iâve been feeling quite strange recently. I feel as if weâre close to finding something for some reason.â
âIs that true?â Zu An was shocked. Mi Li was an expert with high cultivation. There was no way she was just bluffing. There had to truly be a trail of fate.
âYeah. But you donât have to force anything; just do what youâve been doing.â Mi Li was surprisingly optimistic. âAlright, tell me whatâs happened all this time.â
Zu An began to chat with her, telling her about the various things that had happened. For some reason, he felt a strange sense of security whenever he was at her side.
Even though Mi Li wouldnât admit to it, she experienced something similar. To a certain degree, they were both outsiders in this world, so they shared a natural feeling of loneliness. They felt a sense of warmth from each other.
As she listened to Zu Anâs experiences, Mi Liâs frown grew deeper. In the end, she said bluntly, âYou really have no other skills apart from courting girls.â
Zu An was speechless. Sis, are you praising me or putting me down here?
Mi Li continued, âYouâre only getting some small favors and gratitude out of the things you do. Even though your relationship with them is good, why would they help you at a crucial time?â
âDonât tell me I need to get people of my own or something?â Zu An suggested.
Mi Li still shook her head. âThatâs not it. Your current strength isnât high enough, so even if you try to gather some people, itâll still be useless. Furthermore, doing that will only draw bad attention from the emperor.â
âThen what do I do?â Zu An was getting a headache.
Mi Liâs eyes flickered brightly as she exclaimed, âThere are two things you can do!â