Chapter 444: Ceasefire

In just a short exchange, with almost no understanding of "Jizhao," Zheng Zheng Anqi had thoroughly probed the Emperor's true colors through a single sentence and the flaws between several moves—the Emperor had indeed been changed, but the underlying cowardice and hesitation in his nature had not completely disappeared.

"Jizhao" is a state of mind.

The flaw in one's nature is the flaw in "Jizhao."

The Emperor was hiding under the Crown Prince's outer shell.

As Zheng Zheng Anqi pointed this out, the Crown Prince's eyes flickered, but immediately returned to that half-dead, lazy appearance.

"So what?"

The Crown Prince smiled and retreated several steps; his figure gradually distorted and faded, becoming completely transparent in less than a breath, and then disappeared from Zheng Zheng Anqi's sight.

"With this palace here, you cannot hurt His Majesty."

The voice echoed in the Hall of Supreme Harmony.

The situation turned around; Zheng Zheng Anqi only needed to guard against the Crown Prince's sneak attacks and no longer needed to divert extra attention to guard against the Emperor, greatly reducing the crisis. At the same time, if the Crown Prince attacked, he might be caught by Zheng Zheng Anqi, directly threatening the Emperor's main body hiding within.

But Zheng Zheng Anqi still couldn't break "Jizhao."

As long as the main body didn't attack, there was absolutely no possibility for Zheng Zheng Anqi to break the situation; he could only drag it out forever. For the Emperor, this was not an unacceptable result.

As long as he dragged it out until Li Miao woke up.

As long as the Yingzhou Heaven-Man still existed.

As long as Zheng Zheng Anqi's heavy injuries were not healed.

The scales of victory were still tilting little by little toward Li Miao's side.

Zheng Zheng Anqi didn't refute; he flashed and attacked the two golden-armored guards. Although his right arm was crippled, a sweep of his left palm pulled both guards into the battle circle with powerful true energy.

Only this time, he didn't hold back.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Zheng Zheng Anqi completely abandoned defense; all protective true energy transformed into invisible blades attacking the golden-armored guards.

Armor plates splashed.

Armor shattered.

Flesh and blood flew.

The Crown Prince, who had hidden his figure and was observing the situation, had his pupils shrink.

Zheng Zheng Anqi's fighting style had changed.

If Zheng Zheng Anqi had previously been a Daoist in wide robes and sleeves, a martial artist trading injury for injury, now he was an assassin making a desperate strike.

Just like now—Zheng Zheng Anqi suddenly bent his knees, actually kneeling on the ground without caring about his image! The golden melon and axe grazed his scalp, and his two calves suddenly sprang out, launching his entire body under the crotch of the axe-wielding guard, his fingers pointing and lifting!

Swish, swish, swish, swish! ——

Hundreds of invisible blades converged into a huge cone, suddenly piercing the crotch; the axe-wielding guard didn't even have time to let out a cry of pain before being torn in two!

At the same time, the golden melon smashed down from the air.

Smashing toward Zheng Zheng Anqi's head.

But he stayed in place, backhanding with his fingers to lead, and that huge cone smashed down from mid-air!

Two whistles crossed; both were desperate strikes.

Zheng Zheng Anqi seemed to have gone mad, wanting to trade lives with an illusion.

But neither the Emperor nor the Crown Prince would think so; Zheng Zheng Anqi might lose, but they had never thought Zheng Zheng Anqi would go mad and die at their hands.

Taking this opportunity, the Crown Prince manifested several zhang away, his gaze fixed on Zheng Zheng Anqi while he raised his hand to lead, about to recall the axe-wielding guard.

"Go—"

Pupils shrank.

Facing the golden melon smashing toward his head, Zheng Zheng Anqi actually just tilted his head, and at the same time, his left hand waved fiercely!

Bang!

The golden melon smashed into his left face; without protective true energy to resist, Zheng Zheng Anqi's left face was instantly shattered, flesh and blood splashing out.

Although it didn't hurt his brain, the sharp pain was imaginable—and Zheng Zheng Anqi's eyes still didn't have the slightest fluctuation.

Woo! ——

A sound of breaking air rose.

The huge cone condensed from true energy tore through the air and reached the Crown Prince's front in an instant!

It was like the strike Zheng Zheng Anqi threw at Bolangsha a thousand years ago... no, after a thousand years of accumulation, this strike would only be faster and more fatal!

The Crown Prince had absolutely no possibility of blocking it!

"Sigh."

At this very moment, the Crown Prince suddenly sighed.

"Your Majesty, I leave it to you."

He took a step. One figure split into two.

The Emperor manifested and remained in place.

The Crown Prince stepped forward, arms crossed to block.

Bang! ——Crash.

The huge cone smashed the fist blade.

The Crown Prince laughed wildly, his other fist striking the huge cone again.

Now, he looked a bit more like Li Miao.

The Emperor gritted his teeth and hid his figure.

Guard illusions could be summoned again at any time, but the Crown Prince illusion was the most important part of his true heart illusion; if it died, re-condensing it would take a considerable amount of time.

But now there was no time to summon guards again; the Crown Prince had blocked a strike for him with his life. In the illusion, only Zheng Zheng Anqi and he remained; the next time he appeared, he would face a desperate strike from this legendary assassin from a thousand years ago.

He no longer expected to kill Zheng Zheng Anqi.

Drag it out.

As long as Zheng Zheng Anqi was dragged here, as long as he dragged it out until Li Miao woke up!

The Emperor disappeared.

The Crown Prince was shattered by the iron cone, and Zheng Zheng Anqi flipped up and killed the golden melon guard.

Dust settled, sounds paused.

In the great hall, there was dead silence.

Zheng Zheng Anqi's left face was smashed, leaving only his bloodshot right eye, calmly looking around, capturing every movement. The pain deep into the marrow seemed not to exist on him at all.

He was like a rock; neither heavy injuries, betrayal, nor desperate situations could shake him in the slightest.

The situation remained deadlocked like this.

Suddenly, Zheng Zheng Anqi's gaze flickered.

He slowly lowered his head, looking at his heart.

Just a moment ago, his heartbeat stopped for an instant; for someone of his realm, this phenomenon was extremely abnormal.

But Zheng Zheng Anqi knew what had happened.

"'I' have died."

He turned his head and looked in a certain direction.

That hint of premonition and palpitation was because a part of him had disappeared.

The part planted in Li Miao.

The possession had failed.

Zheng Zheng Anqi accepted this result naturally. Li Miao's uniqueness was extremely rare even in his memories spanning a thousand years; whether it succeeded or failed, he wouldn't be surprised.

But since it failed.

Then he had no more time to drag it out with the Emperor.

He still had two backup plans; one was to attempt to kill Li Miao, which didn't require his personal participation; and the other, he needed to activate personally.

Zheng Zheng Anqi took a step in the direction from which the palpitation came.

The moment he was dragged into the illusion, he lost his orientation, but the palpitation of Li Miao swallowing the nature seed pointed the way for him.

The Emperor's expression changed drastically.

Because the next instant, Zheng Zheng Anqi suddenly disappeared from where he was.

Bang!

The Emperor suddenly chased after him, attempting to catch up with Zheng Zheng Anqi, but he was ultimately a breath too late—in this breath, Zheng Zheng Anqi had rushed out dozens of zhang.

Heaven and earth changed.

The Hall of Supreme Harmony suddenly disappeared from before Zheng Zheng Anqi's eyes, replaced by ruins, corpses, city walls, and smoke.

Zheng Zheng Anqi had rushed out of the range covered by the illusion.

He rushed toward the direction of the Imperial Palace.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 445 =====