Zu An replied grimly, “You've already obtained the key. Why do you need us to go with you?”
Firework coldly replied, “Can’t I just have you come with me? Didn’t you say I was lonely and empty? The least you can do is to accompany me.”
Zu An was stunned. Didn’t expect my words to come back and bite me so quickly.
As soon as Isabella broke free of her restraints, she ran to Zu An’s side to grab his arm, but Firework’s earlier ferocious glare made her hesitant to do so.
“Don’t worry, it’s fine now.” Zu An patted her hand to console her. He then turned to Firework and asked, “What about the others? Didn’t you agree to free them?”
“The sight of them irks me, so I didn’t take them with me. I've released them elsewhere,” Firework replied coldly.
Zu An was worried that she had secretly eliminated them, but he didn’t dare to point that out lest she be provoked by that question. That could prompt her to kill them for real if they weren’t dead yet. So, he could only suppress his curiosity.
Isabella tugged his sleeves and secretly asked him what was going on.
“I made a deal with her... Firework is one of her identities, and so is Yani...” Zu An roughly explained the situation. In truth, he was confused as well. What’s that woman’s real identity? And what’s the deal with Firework?
Isabella was startled by the revelations. At the same time, she was amazed. “Big brother Zu, you’re amazing to have overcome this sure-death crisis.”
She'd experienced Firework’s strength, and she couldn’t find any solutions against her despite her resourcefulness. Yet Zu An had somehow found a way to calm Firework.
Firework, who was walking in front, didn’t turn around, but she could see Isabella’s twinkling eyes. She knew no man could resist a young lady’s gaze of admiration. She would have killed Isabella if the latter were a scheming green tea bitch[1], but the girl was earnest. She couldn’t find a reason to make a move.
Isabella had sincerely come here to save her, and had even been calling her ‘big sister’ along the way...
Tingxue is much better. She’s cold, lofty, and doesn’t flirt with Zu An at all.
Zu An, Tingxue, and Isabella walked through the spatial passageway opened by Firework and returned to the heart-shaped stone.
Firework was about to insert the key when she thought about something and tossed the key to Zu An. “You do it.”
Zu An asked, “...Why are you letting someone else release your seal?”
Firework smiled. “You also know that it’s a seal targeted against me. What if there are some special measures embedded in it against me? I’d be courting my own death.”
Zu An had to concede that her words made sense. Being on the weaker side here, he had no choice but to take the key and march up to the stone.
“Be careful!” Isabella reminded him.
Despite Firework’s light-hearted demeanor, she stared intently at Zu An in case he attempted something. She was so focused on him that she overlooked Isabella’s ‘green tea bitch-esque’ demeanor.
Zu An chuckled. He took a deep breath before inserting the key. A brilliant light shone from the stone, making it appear like a beating heart.
At the same time, the rift valley where the Eight Barren Netherworld Suppression Formation was located emitted a red light, as if an entity had opened its eyes. No, it felt as if the rift valley was just a small part of its eye.
A desolate aura settled over the forbidden land, emanating pressure that was of even higher stature than Firework.
Firework was the first to sense the changes. She instantly appeared beside Zu An, grabbed his collar, and exclaimed, “You brat! What did you do?”
Tingxue hurriedly drew her sword and brandished it.
Isabella also ran over while searching her bag for an artifact that could help Zu An.
Zu An was dumbfounded. “I didn’t do anything. I merely followed your instructions and inserted the key.”
“Impossible. This is the seal restraining me, so why would it awaken Him...” Firework had maintained a lofty demeanor ever since she revealed her identity, as if everything was in her grasp. This was her first time panicking.
“Who are you talking about?” Zu An asked.
Just then, a blinding white light burst out from the heart-like stone and devoured everything, including him, Tingxue, and Isabella.
Firework was appalled. She tried to escape, but a mysterious force held her in place. What should have been an easy feat for her under any other circumstances became nigh impossible. She fought back with all her might, but her body was still devoured by the white light.
Despair seeped into her eyes as she screamed, “NO!”
She had schemed for countless years and was finally on the verge of breaking free, but everything had come crashing down on her at the last moment. She felt indignant, but that didn’t stop her from vanishing in the white light.
The white light soon faded. All four of them disappeared as if they had never been there.
...
When Zu An was devoured by the white light, he tried escaping via Rainbow Morph, but he quickly realized it didn’t work. It felt like his means were being restricted by some compelling force.
Before he knew it, he had already been transported from the dark, forbidden land to a world of bleak whiteness. He searched his surroundings, but Tingxue, Isabella, and even Firework were nowhere to be seen.
In the distance were winding stairs formed out of white clouds that led into the sky. The world was empty, except for the cloud stairs. This appeared to be a sign for him to scale them.
Zu An had experienced countless bizarre events in his life. Since there were no other clues, he decided to advance.
So, he walked to the stairs, only to lurch in shock. He'd been mistaken. The stairs weren't made out of clouds, but skulls stitched together. It merely looked like clouds from afar.
Unlike normal, gloomy skulls, these skulls emanated pristine white light as if they were the most exquisite works of art. It was just unnerving to see so many skulls gathered in one place.
As if sensing his arrival, the skulls suddenly turned to him and chanted, “Go up... Go up...”
Zu An was speechless.
Being the Netherworld’s master, this wasn't his first time seeing talking skulls, but it was terribly unsettling to be simultaneously stared at and talked to by tens of thousands of skulls.
He took a breath to calm himself before stepping on the chanting skulls and making his way up into the sky.
1. Green tea bitch refers to people who pretend to be innocent but are actually manipulative. ☜