"Hahaha!" The Dark Golden Crow roared with laughter, not answering Zhou Hong's question.
"What are you laughing at? Am I wrong, brother?"
"Young Brother Zhou Hong, I can only say you're a bit foolish, but I still thank you for releasing me," the Dark Golden Crow said.
"Brother Golden Crow, what do you mean by that? Didn't you just say that even if I lifted your seal, you would still assist me until I ascend to the immortal realm?"
"Little brother, that's why I say you're a bit foolish. I, the dignified Dark Golden Crow, one of the Ten Fierce Beasts of the immortal realm, do you think I would be foolish enough to assist an ordinary cultivator? What kind of demon do you take me for?" the Dark Golden Crow snorted coldly.
"Heh heh." Zhou Hong let out a helpless chuckle. A demon's heart was truly hard to test. Fortunately, Zhou Hong had kept a watchful eye. He could reseal it now with just a thought.
Zhou Hong had initially considered completely lifting the seal if the Dark Golden Crow had been sincere. He hadn't expected to underestimate a demon's heart.
"Zhou Hong, since you willingly lifted the seal, I won't hold a grudge for your past life's grandfather sealing me. Let's part ways here." With that, the Dark Golden Crow prepared to leave.
However, in the next second, a powerful suction force emanated from Zhou Hong, instantly drawing the Dark Golden Crow back into his sub-world.
"What's going on?" the Dark Golden Crow roared within Zhou Hong's sub-world.
"Brother Golden Crow, I hadn't had time to completely remove the seal yet."
"You dare to play me!" The Dark Golden Crow was enraged.
"You misunderstand. How could I dare to play you? However, it's fortunate I didn't completely remove it, otherwise, how would I have known you broke your promise?"
"Zhou Hong, I never expected you to be this kind of person," the Golden Crow roared.
"I also didn't expect you to be this kind of demon."
"Zhou Hong, I originally felt a bit guilty, thinking you were so naive to be deceived by me. Unexpectedly, you're the deceiver."
"Alright, calling me a deceiver is like calling yourself one. Let's pretend what just happened didn't happen," Zhou Hong said helplessly.
"Hmph, I'm very disappointed in you."
"Me too. I thought we were at least friends, but it turns out I'm very disappointed in you too."
"Don't expect me to help you anymore."
"It doesn't matter. You could only help me once a month anyway, making your help almost nonexistent. Moreover, as enemies grow stronger, controlling my body won't be enough. In other aspects, your help is most significant when searching for treasures. Now I finally understand why my past life's grandfather sealed you. It wasn't to have you help me, but to stabilize my sub-world. Just after you left for a moment, my sub-world became as fragile as an umbrella missing its ribs. Therefore, you'll never be able to leave my sub-world."
"Ahhhh!" The Dark Golden Crow roared in fury. Its role was indeed to stabilize the sub-world. Otherwise, with Zhou Hong's weak strength, how could he support such a vast sub-world?
"If you're willing, I'll still call you Brother Golden Crow in the future," Zhou Hong said.
However, the Dark Golden Crow no longer bothered to reply to Zhou Hong. Zhou Hong let out a wry smile. The friendship he had painstakingly built with the Dark Golden Crow had just sunk. He hoped they could rebuild their friendship in the future.
Just then, the emperor, who had fallen to the ground, seemed to be waking up.
Zhou Hong couldn't explain why he suddenly fainted, so he could only feign unconsciousness and lie on the ground.
After a while, the emperor woke up and got to his feet.
Zhou Hong also slowly pretended to open his eyes.
"Your Majesty, what happened to me? Why did I faint?" Zhou Hong asked.
The emperor shook his head and scanned his surroundings with a solemn expression, finding nothing unusual.
"This is strange. Could there be a powerful expert nearby?" the emperor said, shouting into the surroundings, "Senior, forgive me for my intrusion just now. Please do not be angry. We shall depart immediately."
Zhou Hong was speechless internally.
"Zhou Hong, let's leave quickly. There are cultivators nearby," the emperor said, grabbing Zhou Hong and flying away rapidly.
After traveling a few hundred kilometers, the emperor stopped and said to Zhou Hong, "Zhou Hong, you don't need to return to the imperial palace with me. Go directly back to the Primordial Academy."
"But."
"There's no 'but.' The Grand Tutor wants to kill you, and it's a way to target me. Now that I've brought you away from the palace, he naturally won't pursue you. Hurry back to the Primordial Academy. No matter how bold the Grand Tutor is, he wouldn't dare to kill you at the Primordial Academy."
"What about Tutor Lu?"
"Qianqian, you don't need to worry. No one would dare touch her in the imperial palace."
Zhou Hong shook his head and said, "No, I can't leave first. If I leave, I'll leave with her."
"If you go back now, you'll inevitably encounter the Grand Tutor who will come to question me. At that time, to preserve my imperial dignity, he will surely kill you. I will be in a difficult position too, as I dare not openly oppose him. If you truly want to help me, then return to the Primordial Academy quickly."
Seeing that the emperor had said this, Zhou Hong could only nod helplessly.
However, at that moment, a flash of inspiration struck Zhou Hong's mind.
"Hmm? Can I use atomic bombs as spirit stones? And then set up a formation? For example, using 20 atomic bombs to set up a formation with a radius of 100 meters, and then the 20 atomic bombs explode within this range. I think such powerful energy, exploding within a 100-meter space, should have considerable penetration power, right?"
"Zhou Hong, what are you thinking about?" Lu Yunzong asked curiously as Zhou Hong suddenly zoned out.
"Your Majesty, I just had a sudden inspiration. Perhaps it can be used to deal with the Grand Tutor."
"What inspiration?"
"I was just thinking, can I use 20, or even 30 atomic bombs as spirit stones, and then set up a space-locking formation, allowing 20 or even 30 atomic bombs to explode within a few hundred meters. If that's the case, I don't believe the penetration power won't be enough."
"Formation? How could you know formations?" The emperor looked at Zhou Hong with suspicion. Formations were an advanced technique lost for hundreds of thousands of years.
"Don't ask me how I know. How about we test it here?" Zhou Hong said.
"That's fine too. I'd like to see if you truly know formations."
"Alright!"
Zhou Hong immediately retrieved 20 atomic bombs from his sub-world.
"Zhou Hong, where did you get so many? Do you have a large storage space on you?"
"Your Majesty, you don't need to ask about that."
"Indeed. Everyone has their own secrets." The emperor nodded and didn't pry further.
Zhou Hong quickly arranged the 20 atomic bombs within a 100-meter radius in a specific pattern, forming a spatial blockade formation.