Chapter 312: Over the River and Dismantle the Bridge

Zu An, who was already prepared, leaped away from his spot with a flick of his toes. Seeing the large rock where he had just stood instantly melt under the fierce flames, Zu An swallowed. If he had been hit, he would probably have been reduced to ashes in the blink of an eye.

However, he had no time to think, as more flames were spewing towards him. Zu An hastily employed the Sunflower Phantasm movement technique to dodge. Even so, the hot air around him made his hair slightly curly, and he could faintly smell something burnt.

Worried that Zheng Dan might get burned, he quickly activated the Snowflake Divine Sword technique to create a layer of cold air around them. Both instantly felt much more comfortable.

The Red Dragon spewed fire several times in a row, but its flames were evaded by the opponent's miraculous movement technique. It knew that continuing to spew fire would be too draining and might not even be effective. It decided to stop breathing fire. Instead, its massive body flashed and lunged at Zu An.

Zheng Dan hurriedly said, "A'Zu, run! Don't worry about me." Given the teleportation-like movement technique he had displayed earlier, there was still a chance he could escape. Plus, she could stall the Red Dragon for him. At this moment, she had prepared herself for sacrifice, even if it meant sacrificing her innocence.

Zu An smiled slightly, "Though I am no gentleman, I have never abandoned a friend." Seeing the open-hearted smile on his face, Zheng Dan's eyes welled up slightly. "A'Zu..." She also understood. At worst, they would die together. If they couldn't live together, they could at least die in the same grave. Thinking this way, she felt much luckier than Chu Chuyan.

Just then, the Red Dragon laughed loudly, "Got you!" By this point, it had figured out the pattern of his body movements. No matter how miraculous the Sunflower Phantasm was, the power gap between them was too vast.

Zheng Dan, in his arms, watched helplessly as a massive claw appeared as if presciently exactly where they were about to land. At such close proximity, she could even see residual bloodstains on its claws. That was Chen Xuan's blood from just moments ago. Even Chen Xuan's Indestructible Vajra Body couldn't withstand that attack, let alone Zu An, whose cultivation was lower.

Zheng Dan originally wanted to shield him, but his arms holding her were very steady, and she was completely powerless, unable to move in front of him to block. Therefore, she simply pressed herself tightly against his chest, so that when the dragon's claw pierced his chest, it would also stab her to death, and they could truly become one.

At this moment, Mi Li's voice roared in Zu An's mind, "Are you insane? Why are you deliberately not dodging!!!" Although the Sunflower Phantasm couldn't erase the gap in their cultivation levels, it shouldn't have been seen through so quickly by the opponent. With her eyesight, she could naturally tell that Zu An was doing it on purpose.

Zu An had no energy to spare for an answer at this moment. He directly offered his back to the sharp dragon claw. The Red Dragon saw that he had nowhere to dodge and inwardly snorted, "Just an ant, after all." However, noticing Zheng Dan tightly held in his arms, it felt a sudden reluctance, as the woman was truly beautiful. It was about to transform into human form, and this woman was meant to be used for its transformation celebration. Although they were different species, high-level dragons could transform into human form, so the aesthetic standards of dragons and humans were still very similar. In fact, it wasn't just dragons; the aesthetic standards of other races were also very similar. Because human form was universally recognized as the most conducive body for cultivation, high-ranking members of various races would generally transform into human form. Of course, for some lower-tier races destined not to transform into human form, a human beauty might not be as appealing as a sow.

Thinking it would be a shame for such a beauty to die, the Red Dragon retracted some of the force from its claw. Nevertheless, the force was still enough to pierce a large hole through Zu An's body. To its surprise, when its claw tip pierced his back, there was no expected sensation of tearing into flesh; instead, it felt as if it had struck a transparent membrane. It noticed a blue scale suddenly appear on his back, which forcibly blocked its intended fatal strike.

"This is from the Sea Clan..." Before it could finish speaking, Zu An, seizing the moment of its stunned distraction, caused a dark light to flash in his hand, and his dagger sliced through a layer of its flesh.

The Red Dragon was somewhat surprised. "A weapon from an ant like you can actually harm me? But such a tiny weapon is barely enough to scratch an itch."

Zu An smiled slightly, "That might not be the case."

The Red Dragon ignored him, raising its claw and striking at him again. "Ant, die!" Suddenly, it trembled all over, then cried out in a voice filled with extreme terror, "What's happening... This... This is a curse... Ah..." Its voice was filled with fear and unwillingness. Immediately, its formerly sharp eyes grew dim. Then its massive body, flying in mid-air, seemed to lose all power and crashed heavily to the ground with an earth-shattering roar.

"It's really dead!" Zu An panted heavily. He had actually been unsure, not certain if the Death's Edge Dagger would work on it. After all, with such a large dragon possessing such a high cultivation level, it wouldn't have been surprising if the Death's Edge Dagger had no effect. One should remember that in the secret realm, the Death's Edge Dagger had been useless against people like Zhang Han. However, Zu An decided to take a gamble. After all, items like the Paralysis Poison Bottle clearly stated their applicable level range, but the Death's Edge Dagger did not. Theoretically, there should be no level limit. As for why it was useless against Zhang Han and the others, it was because they were undead creatures. No matter how powerful this dragon was, it was still a living being.

Of course, while the Death's Edge Dagger's function was heaven-defying, it also had a drawback in its use: he might not be able to stab the opponent. Under normal circumstances, it would have been difficult for him to stab Chen Xuan, let alone this Red Dragon, whose cultivation far surpassed Chen Xuan's. Therefore, he could only trade injury for injury and seize the opportunity to stab the Red Dragon. His body had been tempered several times by the Primordial Chaos Sutra, and his recovery ability was astonishing. Even if he were stabbed by the Red Dragon, he felt he might not necessarily die.

However, he hadn't anticipated that the jade pendant Shang Liuyu had given him earlier would activate. Remembering what Shang Liuyu had told him earlier, he felt a chill run down his spine. It was clear that the jade pendant had determined the Red Dragon's attack was enough to instantly take his life, and thus blocked it for him.

At this moment, Mi Li's furious roar filled his mind, "Do you have any idea you almost died just now? If it weren't for such a magic treasure on you, I would have been buried with you..."

Rage points from Mi Li: 444,444,444... Clearly, she was genuinely angry.

"But I didn't die, did I?" Zu An's voice lacked confidence.

Mi Li's spirit body had already appeared, glaring at him with a stony expression. Zu An chuckled awkwardly, "Queen Sister, please don't be angry. This time was indeed a bit reckless, but it definitely won't happen again."

"There's a next time?" Mi Li scoffed. "How many lives do you have to play around like this? Do you still have another magic treasure like the one that just blocked a fatal attack?"

Zu An weakly replied, "No, I don't." At the same time, he secretly marveled at how miraculous the jade pendant Shang Liuyu had given him was, to be able to block a dragon's earth-shattering blow.

"Where did you get that?" Mi Li asked, a hint of curiosity in her voice.

"A friend gave it to me." Zu An briefly explained Shang Liuyu's situation.

"Next time you have a chance, get a few more from her," Mi Li said in a matter-of-fact tone.

Zu An: "?" 'Such a precious item,' he thought, 'it would be a bit embarrassing to ask for more.' 'Queen Sister's nerve is really something,' he thought.

"Are the words 'embarrassed' in your dictionary?" Mi Li snorted. "If you're truly embarrassed, just make her your woman, then wouldn't it be easier to get them from her? Anyway, I've noticed you're quite the Casanova lately."

Zu An: "..." 'Queen Sister, what you said makes so much sense,' he thought. 'I'm speechless.'

Just then, Mi Li spoke again, "Quickly go retrieve the Red Dragon's inner core. That's a good item."

As Zu An walked towards the Red Dragon, he asked curiously, "Are there inner cores in this world?" The last time he dealt with the Stout Jackal, he had also expected there to be inner cores or demonic cores as described in novels, but there was nothing.

As if knowing his doubt, Mi Li explained, "Low-grade fierce beasts naturally don't have them, but dragons definitely do. And this dragon's power is already at the Grandmaster level."

"Grandmaster?" Zu An secretly clicked his tongue. 'This is my first encounter with a Grandmaster-level being,' he thought. 'I wonder what level Mi Li was at her peak.'

Mi Li said, "It's well known that fierce beasts of the same level often have greater combat power than humans. So, even though it's just a Grandmaster, even several Great Grandmasters might not be able to deal with it. I never expected you to cunningly kill it."

Zu An's eyes lit up. "Doesn't this mean I can go around boasting in the future? I instantly killed a Grandmaster-level expert... Oh, no, according to you, it's equivalent to a Great Grandmaster. Doesn't that make everyone else trash!"

"Look at you," Mi Li rolled her eyes dismissively at him. "I advise you not to. Firstly, people won't believe you and will think you're crazy. Secondly, if they do believe you, it'll be even more trouble; you'll invite endless calamities."

"Can't I even brag a little?" Zu An grumbled. As he spoke, he had already followed her instructions and retrieved an inner core from the Red Dragon's head. Originally, a dragon's body was incredibly tough; even in death, it couldn't be pierced by ordinary blades. Fortunately, he had the Death's Edge Dagger in his hand; it truly was a divine artifact for breaking defenses.

The entire inner core was rose-red and faintly emitted a gentle warmth.

"A Grandmaster-level inner core is incredibly rare and a priceless treasure!" Mi Li exclaimed. Whether used to assist fire-element awakened cultivators, or for refining weapons and crafting medicine, it was a top-tier item among the best.

Mi Li glanced at the dragon corpse beside them. "Moreover, every part of a dragon is valuable. Unfortunately, it's too big to move. If only you had a spatial ring or something similar." However, she quickly shook her head. Even a spatial ring wouldn't have such a large volume.

Just then, a seductive groan came from not far away. Zu An slapped his forehead. "Oh no, I almost forgot about her." Zheng Dan's poison had probably fully taken effect. If they delayed any longer, he wasn't sure if her body could withstand it.

He rushed over and helped her up. At this point, Zheng Dan's skin was as red as a cooked shrimp. He quickly channeled a surge of cold energy into her body. Zheng Dan finally regained a sliver of consciousness. Seeing Zu An, she immediately pushed him away. "Don't touch me!"

Zu An: "..." 'My lady,' he thought, 'you're burning bridges a bit too quickly, aren't you?'

"A'Zu is dead, I don't want to live anymore." Zheng Dan revealed a mournful expression and swung her hand to strike her own head.

Zu An was startled. He quickly rushed over to stop her. "What's wrong with you? Aren't I right here, perfectly fine? Are you delirious from the heat?"

Zheng Dan glared at him resentfully, "Evil dragon, don't think I don't know you killed A'Zu and then deliberately disguised yourself as him, thinking I would yield to you!"

Zu An: "???"