Zu An was startled. He quickly checked her pulse and saw that she wasn’t pretending. In order to protect him, she had used up everything she had and was now already completely exhausted both mentally and physically. Now that she relaxed a bit, she finally couldn’t take it anymore and fell asleep.

Zu An took out a spiritual medicine pill and fed it to her to help heal her damaged meridians. Then, he picked her up by the crook of her legs and carried her horizontally. He also fed her ki continuously to help dissolve the medicinal effects. She had only fainted from exhaustion and wasn’t injured, so he didn’t need to use the Primordial Origin Sutra to treat her, and thus he didn’t have to worry about the weird side effects of the Primordial Origin Sutra after merging with the Gold Phoenix.

Shang Liuyu groaned while asleep. Her slightly furrowed brows also gradually loosened up. Just then, she had probably completely entered the land of dreams.

Zu An suddenly thought of something as he left. He bowed toward the giant stone statue and said, “Goodbye, old friend.”

Once the Necropolis Emperor passed on the Netherworld Book of Life and Death to him, the strand of will had already completed its task. Both this soul fragment and the one in the underworld were now asleep forever. Even though they hadn’t spent that much time together, Zu An still couldn't help but feel endless grief well up within him.

After bidding the Necropolis Emperor goodbye, Zu An carried Shang Liuyu back. They quickly returned to the bridge. The monsters that had been chasing them had stopped there, not going any further. However, Zu An didn’t stop and proceeded while carrying Shang Liuyu. He didn’t care about the terrifying reanimated creatures at all.

Roars filled the air shortly after. The half-dragon half-lizard creatures could smell the scent of the living and rushed over, surrounding Zu An. They bared their fangs, but didn’t attack and hesitated instead. Shortly after, several three-headed, six-armed creatures hurried over. When they saw Zu An, strange expressions appeared on their malevolent faces. At first, they were confused, but then they felt a bit of fear.

Then, they all kneeled down in greeting. With the three-headed, six-armed creatures taking the lead, the other creatures also kneeled down as if they were welcoming their ruler.

Zu An was stunned. He'd thought that there was going to be another battle, but this ended up saving him the trouble. He naturally didn’t think it was because they were scared of his power. This was most likely because he now carried the aura of the Necropolis Emperor, or perhaps it was the underworld authority.

I wonder if these guys used to be the Necropolis Emperor’s subordinates…

Zu An nodded slightly. Then, he proceeded to the main hall. The altar was still sitting quietly at the highest point of the room. At its center was the rainbow-like World Law Beacon. Its brilliant colors were especially beautiful.

The Divine Dragon Immortal Medicine next to it was still full of life. Rings of energy that almost looked as if they had physical substance spread outward. A strong medicinal fragrance filled the entire space. Even the dreaming Shang Liuyu looked more comfortable after smelling it.

Zu An recalled the powerful restrictions around the altar and was worried about hurting Shang Liuyu. He gently leaned her against the wall, and then because he was worried that she would be cold, he removed his own jacket and placed it on the ground before setting her down. “Tsk tsk, look at how much you treasure your women.” Mi Li suddenly appeared nearby with an ambiguous smile.

Zu An said in annoyance, “Can you at least say something before you appear? It really is scary if you pop up all of a sudden like this.”

“Tsk, why would you feel guilty unless you did shameful things?” Mi Li replied indifferently.

“And what shameful thing did I do? She ended up like this after trying to protect me, so what’s the big deal with me taking care of her? Besides, it's not as if you’re my wife,” Zu An grumbled.

Mi Li blushed. “Hmph, you even dare to take advantage of your master?! As your master, I naturally need to help your wife keep you in check. You just pledged your undying love to Chu Chuyan under the Bridge of Helplessness not too long ago, and almost even moved me with your emotions, and yet you’re already flirting with other women a second later. Honestly, even I feel as if you might have multiple personalities of some sort.”

Zu An gave her a look. He clearly didn’t want to discuss matters of love with her. His attention quickly returned to the altar and he asked, “Did you suddenly appear because of this?”

“That’s right. I was worried that you wouldn’t know how to use it.” Mi Li put away her teasing smile and also looked at the dazzling World Law Beacon on the altar. “Once you obtain it, you need to bind it to a specific item you carry with you. That way, you will completely grasp this world’s authority, and to a certain extent, you will become the ruler of this world.”

Zu An wasn’t too interested in becoming the ruler of this world. After all, he was already at the peak of this world’s various civilizations. The human side’s Empress Dowager Liu, the Fiend races' Second Empress, and the Ocean races' Mermaid Queen... It wasn't as if they hadn’t knelt down and called him master before.

But there was indeed a need to secure this kind of authority, or else those monsters would continue to covet it. By doing so, he could also fully stabilize the world barrier and prevent those alien monsters from invading again.

Mi Li continued, “By the way, it would be best for that item to be something especially durable, one that’s hard to break. Otherwise, if it broke, the World Law Beacon would disappear and condense in another hidden location. Finding it again then could be tricky.”

Zu An nodded. He definitely couldn't just secure it to some random object.

“What about the Tai’e Sword?” He instinctively thought of that item first.

“No, the Tai’e Sword is my territory. I won’t let anything else disturb me.” Mi Li refused.

Zu An was speechless.

You’re really treating this sword like your home?

Several other items appeared in his mind. In terms of what was hard to break, the first choices were naturally divine weapons like the the Sun Slaying Bow, Human Emperor Seal, Crown of the Ocean Deity… But the Sun Slaying Bow would remind him of the late Fiend Emperor, and the Human Emperor Seal was Zhao Han’s representative weapon. The Crown of the Ocean Deity was similar. Even though thy were good, that was their mainf law.

Zu An suddenly thought of something. A pitch-black dagger appeared.

The Poisonous Prick!

This dagger had actually been at his side the longest. When he was still weak, he had overcome more powerful enemies countless times because of it. Even though it wasn’t a divine weapon and didn’t exude the special pressure they did, when it clashed with divine weapons, it wasn’t outdone at all, and it was even superior due to its special ability.

“Let’s just choose this.” Zu An gently stroked the dagger. A gentle smile appeared on his face.

Mi Li chuckled. “As expected. It’s quite fitting too.”

Then, she shared the method of binding the World Law Beacon with him. It wasn’t too complicated, but it was probably something that not many people knew.

Zu An was already used to her mysterious nature and didn’t ask too much. Instead, he walked toward the altar. As he approached, the terrifying pressure appeared again, trying to stop his movements. It also served as a sort of warning that stubbornly advancing could result in disastrous consequences.

Zu An didn’t stop and continued in. Many runes around the altar flickered, clearly preparing devastating attacks. However, Zu An suddenly realized something. These runes seemed to be able to communicate with the World Law Beacon and the world source’s will. It was no wonder that even with his cultivation, he couldn't endure the attacks. No matter how powerful one was, they wouldn’t be more powerful than an entire world.

He was already prepared, however. He suddenly released the aura of the underworld emperor.

Other runes suddenly lit up on the altar. Then, as if it was inspecting something, a gentle light shone on his body. Perhaps sensing the special authority that he carried, the runes that had been growing brighter and brighter gradually dimmed. The destructive power also gradually disappeared.

Zu An knew that the altar had already completely opened itself to him, allowing him to enter as he pleased. Sure enough, he continued all the way to the center of the altar, but didn’t sense any danger at all. He reached out and gently took the World Law Beacon. It was really hard to describe what kind of sensation it carried.

It was as if he was holding a rainbow. It felt as if he was holding something, and yet also as if he wasn’t holding anything at all. In that instant, he could feel the fluttering skies and the thick and sturdy earth. He could feel endless streams gathering into rivers, then ultimately converging at the sea. He could feel the slightly trembling feathers of the birds in the sky, and the gently swaying grass in the wind. He sensed the roars of beasts, the buzzing of bugs, the emotions of countless living things. He could feel the entire world.

No, he… was the world!

When he opened his eyes, there seemed to be countless lights and shadows flickering in them. In the end, they all gathered into a speck of starlight that entered his eyes.

Mi Li appeared at his side. “How do you feel?”

“I feel as if I’ve become stronger.” Zu An was a bit confused, though. He remarked, “However, there’s clearly no increase in cultivation. Strange…”