Chapter 741: You Are Forcing My Hand

It was as if a peerlessly beautiful petal had been wantonly crushed, no longer possessing its city-toppling, country-toppling appearance.

Even the Sovereign Ji, upon seeing this scene, had her expression shift slightly.

"Dying in armor, dying in armor..."

Her beautiful, glamorous face turned icy cold.

Her future self had died in battle.

Who had killed her?

She did not know.

The Heaven-Suspended Mirror could not point it out either; if it could, the Heaven-Suspended Mirror would have long since been a divine artifact.

The future is wondrous, and it is constantly changing.

Perhaps from the moment she saw this scene, the future had already changed.

Sovereign Ji continued to stare, beginning to wait.

Waiting for the Heaven-Suspended Mirror to point out a glimmer of survival for her.

Soon, within the mirror's surface, the image of the Empress dying a miserable death gradually dissipated, beginning to coalesce and transform into another figure.

In an instant, Sovereign Ji's complexion changed drastically, filled with an expression of disbelief.

"How is this possible?"

"Why would it be him?"

"Who exactly is he?"

Sovereign Ji blurted out three questions, but the vast palace was deathly silent, and no one answered.

…………

"Many thanks."

Ji Province.

Inside a dilapidated little courtyard.

Zhao Zhugui took a bowl of noodles handed to him by a woman.

"Eat."

The woman smiled gently, looked at Zhao Zhugui's handsome face, and hurried into the kitchen to continue cooking.

She had gone to town to buy groceries today and had seen Zhao Zhugui staring blankly at a tree along the way.

A whole afternoon had passed, and when the woman returned, this man was actually still staring blankly at that tree.

Clearly, his appearance was so handsome, and the clothes on his body looked extremely expensive as well.

Yet this man just gave people a strange feeling.

"Sleep at my place tonight; it hasn't been peaceful lately, and ancient divine beasts keep appearing at night."

On the other side of the courtyard, an old man with white hair held a bowl of noodles, slurped a mouthful, and wore a satisfied smile on his face.

He glanced at Zhao Zhugui, only to see Zhao Zhugui slurping his noodles with just as much happiness as he was.

The old man was stunned.

His granddaughter's noodles were delicious, sure, but how could this person be eating them as if they were rare delicacies?

"How is it? My granddaughter's cooking tastes pretty good, right?"

"Delicious!" Zhao Zhugui finished it in a few bites and licked his lips:

"Can I have another bowl?"

He felt a bit embarrassed, but he truly had no money on him.

"Sure, there's plenty left."

Inside the kitchen, the woman walked out with a gentle smile, but after she and Zhao Zhugui locked eyes for a moment, she immediately averted her gaze and went back into the kitchen.

"Hehehe..."

To the side, the old man chuckled and began to ask Zhao Zhugui some questions.

"What is the young man's name?"

"Zhao Zhugui."

"Where is your home?"

"I don't know."

"Hmm?"

"I really don't know."

…………

Time passed slowly.

It was getting dark.

Zhao Zhugui was about to set off, but was stopped by the woman:

"It's dark now, and it hasn't been peaceful at night lately."

The woman gazed at Zhao Zhugui, wanting to say something but hesitating; seeing Zhao Zhugui nod, she then smiled:

"I've prepared a room for you, there, that one."

Zhao Zhugui thanked her with a smile and entered the room.

After a while.

The woman brought over a bowl of honey water and also carried in bedding.

Immediately after, she brought in water for washing feet.

This actually left Zhao Zhugui feeling a bit at a loss.

At night, he lay on the bed.

"She clearly has taken a liking to me."

"But what I want is to travel the world, yet after eating two bowls of rice and drinking a bowl of honey water, I must pay the debt..."

He was filled with endless worry:

"What should be done about this? I must earn money to pay the debt, but if I stay in the vicinity, perhaps the amount I owe will only grow more..."

He pondered, and soon fell into a deep sleep.

Until nightfall.

A series of rustling sounds rang out.

It woke Zhao Zhugui up.

Zhao Zhugui opened his eyes and sat up.

Faintly, low, heavy breathing sounds could be heard from outside the window.

But the window was made of paper, and Zhao Zhugui could not see what was happening outside the courtyard.

He walked to the window, and a fishy stench slowly drifted in, followed by the low, heavy breathing sounds.

"Who are you?" Zhao Zhugui frowned and asked.

"It's me." The woman's voice rang out, followed by heavy, ragged breathing like a dog sniffing something.

"Don't think too much." The woman murmured:

"Zhao Zhugui, go to sleep now."

Zhao Zhugui gave a grunt of acknowledgment, and immediately after, he heard the sound of the woman's footsteps.

But these footsteps were not at all like those a human could make; they sounded more like the rustling of furry feet rubbing against the ground.

Zhao Zhugui fell silent.

Outside the courtyard.

The woman's voice came from very far away.

"Go to sleep, Zhao Zhugui."

"Alright," Zhao Zhugui replied.

He stood by the window for a long time.

He had some guesses, but his heart grew increasingly heavy.

Until a certain moment.

Creak.

Zhao Zhugui pushed open the room door and saw the courtyard covered in bloodstains.

He went to the woman's room, only to see the interior filled with blood and gore, the woman's headless corpse gnawed into pieces by something.

And the old man's room was even more chaotic, practically a living hell.

Zhao Zhugui stood for a long time, looking at the trail of bloodstains leading out of the courtyard under the moonlight.

At the same time.

Far away within the Royal Court, the Sovereign Ji looked at Zhao Zhugui at this moment, coldness appearing in her eyes.

She had sent someone to track Zhao Zhugui, but she had not told them to stand by and watch people die.

That person had actually sat and watched as the woman's family was gnawed on by an Ancient Divine Beast before leaving.

All for the sake of preventing Zhao Zhugui from discovering him and delaying his mission.

At this moment, she watched the stunned Zhao Zhugui, not knowing what the other party intended to do.

This person was too special; clearly possessing a heavy treasure, yet he seemed to have no idea of the value of the heavy treasure on his person.

In Zhao Zhugui's view, perhaps he was just a mortal.

Sovereign Ji lost interest and intended to stop watching.

She was too busy; being able to spare this much time to observe a stranger was already the limit.

Yet, at this very moment.

Sovereign Ji gave a soft exclamation of surprise.

For she saw Zhao Zhugui rummaging through the courtyard for a long time, finding a plow blade, and then setting off at a run, following the bloodstains.

Sovereign Ji's eyes flashed; was Zhao Zhugui about to reveal his true strength?

But why use a plow blade that only a mortal would use?

Soon.

Inside a dense forest.

The swaying jungle blocked Zhao Zhugui's path.

"How annoying." An impatient woman's voice rang out.

A massive toad crawled out, and on the toad's head, it wore a dozen heads with eyes still wide open in death.

The head of the woman who had cooked for Zhao Zhugui was prominently among them, her eyes filled with blood, but her mouth was moving.

"After I eat, for some reason, I always like to read the memories of those foods; every time I want to look at their memories.

Their heads will grow on my body."

The woman spoke as numbly as a puppet:

"I just ate her, and I felt that she liked you so, so much, which resulted in me being unable to bite you."

She chuckled:

"But now, why did you chase after me? Her memories can no longer control me."

The massive toad looked coldly at Zhao Zhugui, its two fan-like toes covered in pitch-black velvet hair, wriggling on the ground.

"If I eat you, I will feel terrible, but why did you have to chase after me? I am so hungry..."

The woman's head was still speaking, teetering on the toad's body, tears streaming from her eyes.

"I feel so terrible, I feel so terrible."

A strange sound echoed through the forest.

Zhao Zhugui's gaze was complex; at this moment, he spoke calmly:

"But I have eaten two bowls of rice and a bowl of honey water at her home."

With a bang.

A massive phantom collided with him, instantly sending Zhao Zhugui flying.

Zhao Zhugui climbed up from the black forest, looked at the broken plow blade in his hand, and charged forward the next moment.

At this moment, the Lady Ji watched intently.

However, very quickly, she was stunned.

This Zhao Zhugui did not know how to fight at all.

Even a hidden expert who had lost their memory would have combat instincts.

But this Zhao Zhugui was not one.

The only thing that surprised her was that Zhao Zhugui was not killed by the impact.

It would be strange if he were killed by it.

This Zhao Zhugui had absorbed the body energy of an Origin Realm entity; in fact, his physical body was already comparable to the peak of the Unity Realm.

But the problem was, Zhao Zhugui truly did not know how to fight.

Time and again he charged to kill, and time and again he was knocked flying.

Lady Ji rested her forehead in her hand.

"Why is it him? What exactly is so strange about him?"

She could not understand it anymore.

This Ancient God Beast was only at the second rank.

But it looked like it really could kill Zhao Zhugui.

Lady Ji wanted to give an order, but Zhao Zhugui would always charge back into the fray.

Until a certain moment.

With a squelch.

Zhao Zhugui held the broken blade and pierced the toad's head.

Lady Ji watched calmly.

She saw Zhao Zhugui cut down the woman's head and bury the woman and the old man.

Until a certain moment.

Zhao Zhugui finished everything.

He looked at the sun in the distant sky and revealed a smile.

Lady Ji was stunned.

This Zhao Zhugui actually continued to go sightseeing.

It was as if everything that had happened before had not changed his perception.

He had eaten a meal at someone's house, then killed the enemy to repay the favor, and continued his own journey.

It was as if traveling the world was his mission.

Lady Ji did not know how to evaluate this.

"Bring him back." Lady Ji gave the order directly.

Since Zhao Zhugui was her sliver of hope for the future, then this sliver of hope should not run too far away.

Then.

Inside the vast palace.

Lady Ji sat peacefully on the throne; inside the great hall, Zhao Zhugui looked helpless.

"If you do not want the Ancient God Beast to kill too many people, then come and help me. You possess a great artifact; do not ruin yourself."

"Ruin myself?"

Inside the great hall, Zhao Zhugui said with an ugly expression:

"You are the one truly ruining yourself."

Lady Ji narrowed her eyes; she did not like others contradicting her.

Yet she saw the man on the hall floor say calmly:

"You have the world in your heart, but your body is only on this tiny throne. I do not have the world in my heart, but my body must walk across mountains and seas, infinitely far."

He stared at Lady Ji:

"So who is the one ruining themselves?"

Lady Ji was taken aback, the smile gradually fading from her face, and she just stared deeply at Zhao Zhugui like that.

Inside the Ancient God Forbidden Land.

"You really are..."

Chen Yan's expression was icy:

"Forcing my hand."

He had seen Zhao Zhugui leave and was about to rethink his strategy, but he had not expected Lady Ji to actually drag Zhao Zhugui back.

The places Zhao Zhugui passed through would invisibly leave behind the power of his will, allowing Chen Yan's power of will to spread across the mountains and rivers of the world.

Li Zhiyi is the root of Chen Yan's rebirth, and Zhao Zhugui is also the root.

Chen Yan walked out of the Enlightenment Myriad Forms Map and arrived inside the Magnetic Storm Thunder Prison.

Seeing Chen Yan emerge from seclusion, the crowd also focused their attention.

"Things have reached this point, let us return."

Chen Yan laughed:

"Let us see if we can change the world."

His voice fell.

A brilliant light appeared in everyone's eyes.